Sunak: It was mistake to leave D-Day event for TV interview

RISHI SUNAK today admitted making a "mistake" as he was forced into a humiliating apology for leaving the D-Day commemorations in France early to record a TV interview.

- Jitendra Joshi, Nicholas Cecil

Opposition parties accused the Prime Minister of a "dereliction of duty" after he dashed back to resume campaigning for next month's election, while Sir Keir Starmer stayed at the event in Normandy to mix with veterans and world leaders including Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky.

Mr Sunak sat down with ITV last night to defend claims he had made in a televised debate with Sir Keir this week about Labour's tax plans-which have now been criticised by the UK statistics watchdog as well as by independent fact-checkers.

The Labour leader has accused the PM of lying but he failed to push back until late in the ITV debate, to the dismay of his allies, and senior Tories are confident they have shone a searchlight on Labour's tax and spending plans. But in a tweet this morning, the Prime Minister said: "The 80th anniversary of D-Day has been a profound moment to honour the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our values, our freedom and our democracy.