Prime minister says it was ‘a mistake’ not to stay in France for afternoon Omaha beach ceremony.
Rishi Sunak apologized after he ditched D-Day commemorations in France to do a TV interview instead — sparking a furious backlash.
The Conservative prime minister, who is fighting to stay in office ahead of a July 4 general election, said he regretted allowing the event to be “to be overshadowed by politics” and admitted it was a “mistake” to hop back across the Channel early.
The prime minister attended Thursday’s memorial event at Ver-sur-Mer in northern France — but did not take part in the late afternoon ceremony at Omaha beach, instead leaving Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Defense Secretary Grant Shapps to represent the British government.
Labour Leader Keir Starmer — battling to replace Sunak in the election — was in attendance.
Sunak returned to London to take part in an interview for ITV’s Tonight program due to be broadcast next Wednesday.
The move prompted an angry response from political and military figures in the U.K.
Former British army commander in Afghanistan Richard Kemp told the Mirror newspaper: “He should have stayed. As the PM of our country he should have been there to represent the country and to show our gratitude to those who fell.”
Sunak issued an apology Friday morning saying the “last thing” he wanted was “for the commemorations to be overshadowed by politics.”
He added: “I care deeply about veterans and have been honored to represent the U.K. at a number of events in Portsmouth and France over the past two days and to meet those who fought so bravely.
“After the conclusion of the British event in Normandy, I returned back to the U.K. On reflection, it was a mistake not to stay in France longer — and I apologize.”
ITV’s U.K. Editor Paul Brand said Sunak’s team had pitched the slot for the interview. “Today was the slot they offered us,” he told ITV’s News at Ten. ”We don’t know why.”
The row is a gift to the opposition Labour Party, which is streets ahead in the polls but has faced a difficult week of scrutiny of its tax and spending plans and pressure for party leader Starmer to up his debate game.
Labour spokesperson Jonathan Ashworth accused Sunak of “choosing to prioritize his own vanity TV appearances over our veterans,” and added: “It is yet more desperation, yet more chaos, and yet more dreadful judgement from this out of touch prime minister.”
