Rishi Sunak has been criticised after reports emerged early on Thursday that he had left the anniversary of the Normandy landings in Normandy and returned to the UK to give a pre-recorded television interview.
The prime minister was attending an event in Ver-sur-Mer in northern France, which was also attended by King Charles and Queen Camilla, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron.
But the prime minister did not attend the late afternoon ceremony at Omaha Beach in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, instead returning to Britain. ITV’s UK editor Paul Brand said the prime minister had returned from Normandy to be interviewed.
He said the station interviews leaders of all parties and had been working for some time to secure a date with the Conservative leader. “Today was the time they offered us. I don’t know why,” Brand told News at Ten.
Tim Montgomery, founder of grassroots Conservative website Conservative Home, told BBC Newsnight: “It makes you want to wrap your head around it. If he was coming back from the anniversary of the Normandy landings to give a political interview, that’s inexcusable.”
“It will be the last major memorial attended by survivors,” he added. “If Mr Sunak misses his ITV election interview, I think that will be a most significant political blunder.”
Keir Starmer, along with Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and Foreign Secretary David Cameron, attended the event at Omaha Beach with world leaders including Macron and US President Joe Biden. The Labour leader was also pictured chatting to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Late on Thursday, ITV aired an interview with Mr Sunak in which he denied Mr Starmer’s accusation that it was a “lie” to claim Labour would raise tax by £2,000 – a claim that had been criticised by the UK statistics watchdog.
ITV would not confirm when the published interview was recorded.
Chris Bryant, Labour candidate for Rhondda and Ogmore, wrote to X: “Mr Sunak left the commemoration of the Normandy landings and returned home to lie about lying. The rest is silence.”
Shadow Lord Budgetary Jonathan Ashworth said: “It is disgraceful and a complete dereliction of duty that the Prime Minister left the anniversary of the Normandy landings early to record a television interview and then tell yet another outright lie.”
“Our country deserves far better than Rishi Sunak and his confused Conservative Party, who are out of touch with reality and desperate.”
Conservative party sources played down the diplomatic impact of the prime minister’s absence, saying Finance Minister Sunak was due to meet Macron, Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other key leaders at the G7 summit in the Italian region of Puglia starting next Thursday.
Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, told the Mirror: “I know we have to fight a general election campaign, but this is a very significant anniversary of a great military achievement that brought freedom to Europe.”
“This tournament also has veterans who may never be able to participate again because of their age, so I think it was really important that he showed his enthusiasm for the tournament.”
“He should have stayed. As our prime minister, he should have been there to represent the country and pay tribute to those who died.”
