Election latest: 'It's important we don't politicise this': Rishi Sunak faces questions about D-Day 'mistake' (2024)

As one pollster put it, this story seems "laser guided” to cause the most amount of damage for the Tories.

That's because it gets at existing vulnerabilities in the campaign - such as the accusation that Rishi Sunak is out of touch or the problem with voters abandoning the Tories in favour of the more right-wing Reform party.

It all makes you wonder why on earth the Conservative team didn't see this coming.

"He thinks cleverly but not politically. It's the same for his advisers," says one former cabinet minister.

But with old hands like David Cameron around, it still beggars belief that someone didn't sound the alarm around the political risk of being seen to duck out early from such a high profile event.

The explanation from sources in the Tory campaign is that the itinerary was set weeks before the election was called and so Rishi Sunak was never due to attend the afternoon event at Omaha beach.

Many will question the judgement of a British prime minister missing a D-Day gathering with international leaders like Joe Biden even when not in an election period.

So that leaves M Sunak facing difficult questions and the campaign potentially derailed for days with policy messages blotted out.

It also leaves Penny Mordaunt in tricky situation for tonight's seven-way debate.

The Commons leader represents Portsmouth - somewhere with a large military presence - and is a royal naval reservist herself.

After a smooth week or so for Mr Sunak, this is the biggest bump in the campaign so far.

Labour's shadow defence secretary has said the public are "entitled to answers" over the decision for the prime minister to leave D-Day commemorations early in a letter to his Conservative counterpart.

John Healey told Defence Secretary Grant Shapps the public needed "clear explanations" on seven key questions surrounding what he described as the PM's "dreadful decision".

They include whether it was Rishi Sunak himself who suggested leaving early and whether the TV interview he recorded later that day took place while events in Normandy were ongoing.

"The prime minister's decision not to attend the events in Normandy yesterday - apparently in favour of recording a TV interview - raise worrying questions about both his judgement and his priorities," Mr Healey said.

"There are many people across the country, especially within Armed Forces communities, whofeel betrayedand feel that Britain has been let downby the prime minister.

The public deserve clear explanations from the prime minister and those around him about why this dreadful decision was made.

He added that he was making his letter public given the "clear national interest and concern over this matter".

Mr Sunak has apologised, describing the move as a "mistake" (see previous post).

By Adam Parsons, Europe correspondent, in Normandy

Eighty years after D-Day, and tears are welling in Ken Hay's eyes.

He's remembering the friends who never came home, and the families who lost their children.

Ken was "18 - just 18 years old" when he landed on the beaches.

He was later captured, forced to work in a Polish coal mine and then subjected to the infamous 1,000-mile Long March.

And as we talk, he bristles with a blend of sadness, humour, reflection and, when we talk about politics, an air of disappointment.

I ask him about Rishi Sunak leaving early and Ken sighs.

"He's electioneering. I think it lets down the country. It's not the representation of how we should weld together, trying to keep the peace."

He is even cynical about those leaders who stayed.

"They come here and say all these things, but will they still be thinking about us five minutes later?"

His focus, says Ken, as he holds my hand, is educating children

They, he maintains, ask the best questions.

"One of them asked me 'how do you stop war?'. Well that blew me away for a few minutes. So I said 'love'."

Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed that a recognition of Palestinian statehood as part of any peace process will be included as a commitment in Labour's election manifesto.

"That needs to be part of the process, it's very important we have a viable Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel," Sir Keir told the BBC.

He added: "It is an inalienable right of the Palestinians, it's not in the gift of Israel, so it has to be part of the peace process."

Asked whether this will be in the manifesto, he confirmed: "It will be".

The move will be seen as an attempt to reassure the left of his party, who were angry at the leadership's rejection of a ceasefire position for some months after the 7 October attacks.

Labour's manifesto will be signed off later today and unveiled to the public next Thursday.

The prime minister is facing a growing furore after he left a D-Day commemoration in Normandy early yesterday.

He has apologised, describing it as a "mistake".

Here's what we know so far about his attendance:

Mr Sunak addressed the the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer at around 9.15am (10.15am local time).

He told some 2,000 guests and veterans he was "humbled" to be with them, saying "for what you did that day, we will always be grateful".

It is understood he left after giving the speech.

The following footage from 11.12am (12.12pm local time) appears to then show him leaving the event.

Mr Sunak was then notably absent from the International Ceremony on Omaha Beach at 3.30pm that was billed as being attended by 25 heads of state, veterans and officials.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron took his place, with the latter pictured alongside leaders like Germany's Olaf Scholz, the US's Joe Biden and France's Emmanuel Macron.

Mr Sunak travelled back from France to the UK where he recorded a TV interview set to go out next week.

Sir Keir Starmer has told Sky News there was "nowhere else" he was going to be other than yesterday's D-Day commemorations, as the prime minister faces growing criticism for leaving the anniversary events early.

"Rishi Sunak will have to answer for his own actions," Sir Keir said.

"For me, there was nowhere else I was going to be."

Sir Keir highlighted that the veterans in attendance in Normandy made "a most incredible effort to be there," despite physical and emotional challenges.

"I thought it was very important for me to be there to pay my respects to them and those that didn't return and actually to say thank you," he said.

Mr Sunak has apologised for leaving early, but a number of figures, including within his own party, have criticised the move.

Veterans minister Johnny Mercer has described it as a "significant mistake" (see previous post).

Veterans minister Johnny Mercer has said the prime minister's decision to leave D-Day commemorations early yesterday was a "significant mistake".

"I get the outrage. It's a mistake. It's a significant mistake for which he's apologised," Mr Mercer told the Sun.

However, he went on to defend the prime minister's record on veterans, saying he found "faux outrage" from people he believes don't support veterans' affairs "nauseating".

"I'm also not going to join the howls of the fake veterans supporters who say he doesn't treat veterans correctly, because it's not correct," Mr Mercer said.

"I've spoken to the prime minister this morning and obviously it's disappointing, but I do find the faux outrage from people who've done nothing but make my life difficult trying to improve veterans' affairs over the years is pretty nauseating, to be frank."

Rishi Sunak has apologised for leaving early, describing it as a "mistake".

Labour "can't believe their luck", Sky's political correspondent Tamara Cohen says, as the prime minister faces a growing furore over leaving D-Day commemorations early yesterday.

She says Rishi Sunak seems to have "blundered into one of the biggest missteps of the campaign" - or as one Labour figure told her, of "any campaign".

In opting to leave the commemorations early, Labour believe Mr Sunak has exposed not only a "lack of political judgement" but also "emotional judgement," Tamara says.

She says that in the face of a barrage of Labour criticism, it may be the reaction from military figures that the Conservative camp will be more concerned about, with the party hoping to hold on to public trust on defence and national security issues.

The D-Day event would have been a moment for Mr Sunak to show himself on a world stage, she adds, but instead it was Sir Keir Starmer who was there meeting world leaders at the end.

Mr Sunak has apologised for leaving early, describing it as a "mistake".

By Tamara Cohen, political correspondent

Keir Starmer's election manifesto is expected to pledge recognition of a Palestinian state before the end of a peace process, Sky News understands.

According to people familiar with a draft, it will say a Palestinianstate should be recognised as "part of a peace process" and not vetoed by other states in the region.

The wording will be seen as an attempt to reassure the left of his party, who were angry at the leadership's rejection of a ceasefire position for some months after the 7 October attacks.

But the Labour Party insists there has been no change in Sir Keir's position on Palestine recognition through an international process and alongside a safe and secure Israel.

The manifesto - which will be signed off later today by party officials and unions - is otherwise understood to be cautious on new commitments, and to emphasise economic stability and national security.

It is based around the six key pledges Sir Keir has set out during the campaign.

These include economic growth, recruiting 6,500 more teachers and tackling NHS waiting lists and anti-social behaviour.

But it includes a commitment to "drive down" migration, without including a specific target.

There is no commitment to reverse the two-child benefit cap, despite senior Labour figures having criticised it.

The manifesto will be formally signed off after several hours of discussion at a "Clause Five " meeting today, and unveiled to the public next Thursday, in a key moment of the election campaign.

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