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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow (now) and Martin Belam (earlier)

BBC election debate: Penny Mordaunt says Sunak’s D-day snub was ‘very wrong’ in seven-party clash – as it happened

​​Rishi Sunak Nick Robinson David Johnston Matthew Pennycook David Cameron Emmanuel Macron France Jessica Elgot Sir Keir Starmer Normandy

Read our full report on the BBC election debate here:

Here are the key takeaways from the seven-way exchanges:

And John Crace’s verdict on the whole affair:

Evening summary

  • Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, said that Rishi Sunak was “very wrong” when he left D-day commemorations in France early. She made the comment during a seven-party debate on the BBC, which came at the end of a day when the election campaign debate was dominated by reaction to Sunak’s apology for his decision to miss an international D-day commemoration in France yesterday afternoon.

  • Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has been criticised for saying he does not support the NHS’s funding model. Speaking in the debate, he said:

We all know that whilst you can get great care, the NHS model isn’t working. You can’t get GP appointments – things we have all grown up taking for granted – and they can argue about ‘it’s all money, I’m going to spend more money, you’re going to spend more money’. It doesn’t work.

The more money we spend, the less delivery we get, which means the model is wrong, the model through which we fund health is wrong.

Farage said the UK should follow a French-style insurance model for health. Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, accused Farage of “not believing in the NHS” and wanting to privatise it.

  • Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said it was “a lie” for the Tories to say her party would raise taxes by £2,000. (See 9.37am.)

Updated

During the debate, Mordaunt said the election was about the cost of living crisis and claimed “Labour will put up your taxes by £2,000”, repeating a line made days earlier by Rishi Sunak during ITV’s debate.

Rayner responded quickly, repeating “that is a lie”, and claimed the Conservatives had raised taxes to record levels.

Watch the exchange here:

And read our fact check on the £2,000 claim here:

Updated

Seven-party debate - snap verdict

It is hard for anyone to convincingly “win” a seven-party debate (apart from Mishal Husain, the presenter, who seemed to get the balance between intervening and letting people talk just about right) and it isn’t obvious that any of the seven politicians dominated, or did particularly badly. But it felt as thought Penny Mordaunt and Angela Rayner, representing the two main parties, the Tories and Labour, both may have made a better impression than their bosses did in the ITV debate on Tuesday. And although a seven-way debate may feel too crowded, the range of voices brought with it some welcome pluralism that we did not get three days ago.

Here, in no particular, are some thoughts on how all seven performed.

Penny Mordaunt: She followed the Sunak script from Tuesday – attack Labour relentlessly on tax – but with less mania than her boss (although she was probably the most shouty of the seven people on stage). What was most interesting, though, was how she distanced herself from Sunak over the D-day snub at the start. She was about as critical as she could be, without being openly disloyal.

Angela Rayner: She may not have delivered any zingers, but she rubbished the Tory tax claims much more thoroughly than Sunak did in his debate, and did a reasonably good job of rebutting claims Labour could not be trusted on defence. She was also one of the best at enagaging and sympathising with questioners.

Nigel Farage: He was the most experienced TV debater on the stage, and was effective at seizing the agenda, even if was rather overdoing the sarcasm at some points. But are his Reform UK colleagues really going to be happy with the suggestion that he wants to abolish the NHS as it currently operates? And he was at a disadvantage because his party’s schtick is that they are the only ones challenging the status quo. Tonight, he wasn’t.

Stephen Flynn: If you had to argue any single candidate “won”, it might have been Flynn. He certainly won the IFS truth award, being the only person who repeatedly criticised the main parties for not telling the truth about post-election cuts. And he was also compelling on Brexit, which seemed to attract the loudest applause of the night.

Daisy Cooper: With the Greens, the SNP and Plaid Cymru on the stage, Cooper could not really pull of the third-party, voice-of-reason trick that Nick Clegg managed in 2010. But she was very good on policy (on NHS funding, for example, or stop and search), and sounded most knowledgeable of all the people on stage.

Carla Denyer: On the zinger count, Denyer did best. Her “that was terribly dignified” put down was good, and she probably had the best line in her final statement, when she joked about Starmer changing the Labour party. “He’s right – he’s changed them into the Conservatives,” she said.

Rhun ap Iorwerth: Most viewers won’t have heard ap Iorwerth before, but he probably made a good, first-time impression. Whereas previous Plaid leaders in debates liked this have only talked to a Welsh audience, he took a UK-wide approach. And, whereas Rayner ducked the question about why crime is higher in Labour areas, he addressed it head on: because of poverty.

Updated

The SNP’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, is a polished performer, so it’s no surprise that he prompted regular applause from the audience for sharp responses on the “race to the bottom” on migration driven by Nigel Farage, “followed by the Conservatives and hotly chased by Labour”, or the “conspiracy of silence around Brexit”.

He’s in an odd position here, speaking to a studio audience who can’t actually vote for him, but endeavours to make the delineations clear, speaking about Scotland’s NHS, the Scottish child payment – introduced by the SNP government at Holyrood to mitigate Tory austerity – and telling viewers that cutting migration “does not serve Scotland’s interests and it does not serve your interests either”.

But the other problem with talking to a London-focused audience less than familiar with the detail of SNP policy is that Flynn doesn’t get picked up on some of the gaping holes in his answers.

On energy transition policy, for example, he again failed to clarify what the SNP’s position on new oil and gas licenses is after SNP leader John Swinney suggested at the party’s campaign launch last Sunday that he was moving away from his predecessors’ presumption against new licences.

He also managed to wriggle out of one of the few follow-ups from Mishal Husain to directly question Scottish policy – one on Police Scotland’s policy not to investigate minor crimes with no chance of conviction.

It is also worth noting that Flynn didn’t mention independence once during that debate – again, know your audience!

Updated

Candidates' closing statements

Husain says that was the final question.

They now have 30 seconds each for a final thought.

Rayner says, after 14 years of chaos, it is time for change. She sums up Labour’s six first steps.

Flynn says the Tories are finished. The SNP will put Scotland’s future first, he says. It will never “get comfortable with the Westminster status quo”, unlike Labour.

Denyer says the Tories are toast: “Thank goodness.” Starmer says he has changed the Labour party. “He’s right – he’s changed them into the Conservatives.” The Green represent real change.

Ap Iorwerth says he has stood up, not just for Wales, but for another kind of politics. “The Conservatives are finished – and it can’t come quickly enough.” Voting Plaid will stop Wales being ignored.

Mordaunt says there is a choice: voting Labour, and having higher taxes, higher bills and getting your pension raided; or backing the Conservatives, to cut taxes, protect pensions and keep the nation safe.

Cooper says the Lib Dems will “fix our NHS and social care, tackle the cost of living crisis and put an end to the scandal of filthy raw sewage being dumped in our rivers”.

Farage says, unlike the other candidates, he does not need an autocue. He says politics is not working, and the other parties have come up with “pathetic arguments”.

He says the debate is about who will form the opposition, who will support small businesses and control the borders. He urges people to support Reform UK and “join the revolt”.

And that’s it.

Updated

Denyer says she has signed a pledge for a counsellor in every school. Will the other parties back that?

Rayner says Labour has already committed to more mental health support in schools.

Flynn backs what ap Iorwerth said. He repeats the point about cuts worth £18bn coming down the line.

He says Westminster does not offer hope and optimism.

Farage says low-level crime is rapidly growing. He refers to the broken windows theory, and drug culture has been disastrous, he says.

Seventh question: crime

Q: My son is about to start secondary school. How will you protect him from knife crime?

Denyer says one of her colleagues was a victim of this, so she takes it seriously. She says they need to address the causes.

Farage says there should be more stop and search. And he says the police should not be afraid of using it in areas where there are many black or ethnic minority people living.

Cooper says stop and search can be a valid tool, but suspicionless stop and search is a mistake.

Mordaunt claims, if you live in a Labour area, you are more likely to be a victim of crime.

Rayner says she has teenage sons. People are frightened of crime on the streets. Young people carry knives thinking that will protect them, but it doesn’t. She says the Tories may talk about 20,000 more police officers, but they cut numbers by 22,000.

That’s not true, Mordaunt says.

Ap Iorwerth says it is areas that suffer most poverty that suffer the highest levels of crime. It is people without hope who end up leading criminal lives. He says he was attacked as a teenager.

Updated

Mordaunt says government has to take people with them on the way to net zero.

She says the Tories will get there with public support.

If Labour gets into power, by the end of the next parliament you will not be able to buy a petrol car.

She says the GB Energy company won’t produce any energy.

“Rubbish”, says Rayner.

Rayner says the Tories have been in power for 14 years.

Mordaunt keeps asking how much energy the firm will produce.

Rayner says GB Energy will be a company bringing clean energy to the company, bringing good jobs to the UK.

She says the Tories spout lies about how Labour will ban cars.

Mordaunt repeats the £2,000 claim, and says Labour’s policies will push up costs.

“Dear, oh dear,” says Farage. He claims Labour and the Tories pretend to disagree, but in fact do agree.

Updated

Sixth question: climate

Q: What matters most – economic growth or successful climate policies?

Farage says the UK does not have successful climate policies.

He says we are living in a “false paradise”. Jobs are being exported abroad. Net zero is not working.

Denyer says she used to be an engineeer. Much of what Farage said was not true, she says.

But she says Labour has been a disappointment too. It has rolled back on its climate promises, she says.

Husain asks Rayner about Labour dropping its £28bn green plan.

Rayner says Labour is still committed to a green prosperity plan.

Flynn says the opportunities from green energy are huge. But you have to grasp them. The Labour £28bn plan would have been transformative, he says. With the SNP, you will get that.

On oil and gas, he says the Tories imply oil and gas will last forever. It won’t. Labour want to stop it now; that would cost 100,000 jobs. He says the SNP support a just transition to a green economy.

Rayner says Labour supports a transition too. That is why it wants a bigger windfall tax to fund the transition. And the Great British Energy HQ will be in Scotland.

Flynn asks if Scotland should be grateful. It is their energy. He asks if Rayner accepts the 100,000 jobs lost estimate.

Rayner says Labour’s plans would generate even more jobs.

Updated

Denyer says, with the main parties getting more similar, the argument for more diversity in the Commons is getting stronger.

The Green party is coming of age, she says.

Flynn says he can cite examples of the SNP delivering. He says 100,000 young people have been taken out of poverty. Students don’t pay tuition fees. Scotland has a nationalised water company.

Under the Tories or Labour, the UK faces £18bn worth of cuts, he says.

Ap Iorwerth says he has been around politics for 30 years, for 20 years as a journalist. People are cynical, because of things like Partygate, or Vaughan Gething taking a £200,000 donation from a convicted polluter.

Cooper says this parliament has been characterised by law-breaking, lying and the economic illiteracy of the mini-budget.

Husain asks if she remembers the Lib Dems breaking their promise on tuition fees.

Cooper says that is a sore point.

Updated

Farage says nothing much will change, regardless of who gets in.

But the Tories are “probably sunk below the waterline,” he says.

He says the country needs a revolt. Reform UK is offering that, he says.

Rayner says Labour is only promising what it can fund.

Labour won’t put taxes up for working people, she says.

You are, says Mordaunt. She claims Starmer said that this week.

“Rubbish,” says Rayner.

Updated

Fifth question: delivery

Q: Why is it that politicians promise things but nothing happens when they get into government?

Husain puts the question to Mordaunt, which the audience find amusing.

Mordaunt says the Tories will cut taxes. “That is in our DNA as Conservatives,” she says.

She tells people in the audience they cannot afford that.

Tory claim to be in favour of lower taxes 'dishonesty on breathtaking scale', says Farage

Farage complains more and more people doing middle-income jobs being dragged into the higher tax bands.

He says taxes have risen to a record level. And to hear Mordaunt claim the Tories are a low tax party is “dishonesty on a breathtaking scale”, he says.

Flynn says there is a conspiracy of silence on austerity.

And that is true of Brexit too, he says.

Brexit has impacted the economy more than the Covid pandemic, it has put your food bills up completely unnecessarily, and it has been an unmitigated disaster for the economy.

That generates a long round of applause.

Mordaunt says exports are at a record high.

Flynn says she knows how much damage Brexit has done to the economy.

Rayner rejects claim Labour planning 12 new tax rises

Mordaunt says this election is about the cost of living. The government has supported people through difficult times. But now the economy is recovery. “Those are your achievements,” she says.

She says the election must be about cutting taxes. There will be more announcements in the Tory manifesto next week.

Labour will put taxes up by £2,000, she says.

That’s a lie, says Rayner. You put taxes up.

Mordaunt accepts that, but she says “we hated that”. That is why the Tories went to bring them down.

She says we have heard about 12 new taxes from Labour.

That’s rubbish, says Rayner.

They are shouting over each other.

Husain insists Denyer gets a go.

“That was terribly dignified,” Denyer says. That goes down well with the audience.

Updated

Fourth question: cost of living

Q: We are working to survive, not live. Who will change things for working people?

Ap Iorwerth says this is a change election. He is sure there will be change in No 10. But what does that represent, he says. He says he supports a plurality of voices.

He says the two-child cap should go.

When Tony Blair came to power, there was a sense things would be different, he says. He says he is not sure of that now.

Rayner says he understands what the questioner is saying. Labour would secure the economy, she says. Working people pay the price for that.

And she says the Great British Energy plan will bring prices down. “That is real change.”

Updated

Mordaunt says immigration is too high. She says parliament should have an annual cap on numbers.

Rayner says the Tories have decimated public services.

Mordaunt says Keir Starmer campaigned for open borders.

Rayner says people are coming to the UK because people have not been trained to do the jobs needed.

Ap Iorwerth says the Tories and Labour are talking the same language.

Mordaunt says Labour can talk their language all they like, but they don’t mean it, she suggests.

Cooper says the Tories have made “a complete mess” of the immigration system and the asylum system. And yet there are still shortages in sectors like care. Care workers should get a higher minimum wage, she says.

Denyer asks how cold-hearted does Farage have to be to want to not let people bring their children with them if they are coming to the UK to do a care job.

She accepts there are problems with public services. But that is not the fault of asylum seekers. In the NHS a migrant is more likely to be treating you than being ahead of you in the queue, she says.

Updated

Third question: immigration

Q: What would the parties do about immigration?

Flynn says the SNP believes in promoting immigration.

Farage quotes immigration numbers. Most of the people coming in are not productive; they are dependants, he says. “We are living through a population crisis,” he says. He says numbers have gone up by 10 million since Tony Blair was in power. That is making us poorer, he says. He says net migration needs to come down, so services like health and housing can catch up.

Ap Iorwerth says we need to change the tone. We need to stand up to the “bigotry” of Nigel Farage. The Tories and Labour won’t do that, he says. Plaid Cymru will.

Farage mocks him. “Open borders,” he shouts.

Updated

Farage says NHS's funding model is wrong and UK should opt for French-style insurance model instead

Ap Iorwerth says health workers need to be valued.

Farage says, while you can get great care, the NHS model is not working.

Other parties argue it is about money.

But that does not work, he claims. He says spending on health has gone from 7% of GDP to 11% of GDP.

The model is wrong.

Flynn says this is Farage “telling the public he does not believe in the NHS”.

Farage says he wants to change the way it is funded. France has a different model. It uses the insurance model. The service is managed like a private company. And that produces better results.

Cooper says the King’s Fund, a health service, has looked at this. It found the funding models did not make much difference. It was the amount of money that went in that mattered, she says.

(There is lovely irony in Farage, the architect of Brexit, arguing for Britain to follow an EU policy model.)

Updated

Rayner rejects Mordaunt's claim she does not back nuclear deterrent

Mordaunt says NHS waiting lists are four times higher in Labour-run Wales than in England. The country cannot afford a Labour government.

Rayner says Liz Truss crashed the economy, making care workers redundant.

Mordaunt says, even on her worst day, Truss believed in the nuclear deterrent.

“So do I,” says Rayner.

Rayner does not accept that cuts are coming.

Flynn asks if she is disagreeing with the IFS analysis.

Rayner ignores the point, and says Labour would ensure 40,000 more appointments a week.

Flynn says the non-dom revenue won’t close the fiscal gap that will be there. Labour needs to explain what it would do.

Rayner says Labour would use efficiencies to get more out of the service.

Flynn says that won’t fill an £18bn gap.

Updated

Second question: health

Q: I’m about to start studying medicine. How can you ensure I graduate into a functioning NHS?

Cooper starts by wishing her luck. She says the Lib Dems want to hire thousands more GPs, so people can get an appointment within seven days.

Flynn says he was under the care of the NHS from the age of 14 to 32, because of a disability. He knows what it is like to live with chronic pain, he says.

In Scotland, there are no NHS strikes, he says. And he tells the questioner that in Scotland she would not pay for tuition fees.

You have record waits in Scotland, Husain says.

Flynn blames Covid and the austerity agenda. He says the Tories and Labour know there are cuts worth £18bn coming down the line.

Updated

Mordaunt says she does not want the D-day row to become a political football.

Farage says it has become one already.

Ap Iorwerth says what we saw yesterday was panic – the same instinct that produced the “back of a fag packet” national service plan.

Cooper says she started yesterday watching video of her great-grandfather recalling his experience in the war. She says she finds the idea of the PM walking away from someone like that “completely and utterly unforgiveable”.

Updated

Carla Denyer says the biggest threat to the UK is climate change. She says the defence budget could be spent more effectively.

Stephen Flynn confirms that the SNP does not support the nuclear deterrent.

And he says a PM who puts his own career ahead of war veterans “is no prime minister at all”.

We should all do our own national service and vote the Tories out, he says.

Rhun ap Iorwerth says yesterday was not a day for photo opportunties, as we saw from Farage yesterday. (He was in Normandy.)

Farage interrupts. He says he was there because he raised £100,000 for a London taxi charity to take veterans to Normandy.

Updated

Mordaunt pivots to Labour, and says Rayner and David Lammy voted against renewing Trident. That means the party cannot be trusted with nuclear deterrence she says.

Rayner comes back forcefully. She says it is the Tories who have run down the army. And she says her brother served in Iraq.

Updated

Penny Mordaunt says what Sunak did, in leaving D-day events early, was 'very wrong'

Q: As we celebrated D-day, and remember those like my father, how will the parties ensure our armies are ready and our country safe?

Angela Rayner starts by thanking people who serve. Labour is committed to the triple lock on the nuclear deterrent: keeping the submarines, making sure new ones are built in Barrow, and doing upgrades.

And Labour will improve accommodation for servicemen and women, she says.

Daisy Cooper says the Lib Dems are the party of Paddy Ashdown, so they take defence very seriously. They would increase defence spending year by year, aiming for 2.5% of GDP by the end of the next parliament.

Nigel Farage says the army has shrunk. He says they need 30,000 more soldiers, not volunteers. And he says we should support veterans. What happened yesterday was a disgrace, he says.

Penny Mordaunt said what the PM did was “very wrong”.

The prime minister has rightly apologised for that, apologised to veterans, but also to all of us because he was representing all of us.

I’m from Portsmouth. I’ve also been defence secretary and my wish at the end of this week is that all of our veterans feel completely treasured … What happened was very wrong.

UPDATE: Asked if she would have left D-Day commemorations early, Mordaunt said:

I didn’t go to D-day. I think what happened was very wrong, I think the prime minister has apologised for that.

But what I also think is important is we honour their legacy, they fought for our freedom, and unless we are spending the right amount on defence we can’t honour that legacy.

Updated

Husain says the polling firm Savanta chose the audience, who are representative of Britain.

The questions will come from the audience, she says.

Husain starts says leaders or leading figures were invited to take part.

She introduces the seven participants.

Seven-party BBC debate kicks off

Mishal Husain, the Today presenter who is chairing tonight’s debate, opens the programme.

Rishi Sunak was hecked at a campaign event this afternoon by a GP, Antonella Guerrera reports.

This morning Sir Craig Oliver, David Cameron’s communications chief when he was PM, gave an initial assessment on the Today programme of how damaging the D-day snub is for Rishi Sunak. (See 8.36am.) He has just posted a revised assessment on X, and it is even more damning.

A few more thoughts on @RishiSunak’s returning early from D-Day and apologising:

-This is a gift tied up with a bow for @Nigel_Farage and @UKLabour

. - It may be hard to sustain as a story in the media, but targeted messaging to the Red Wall will now be relentless. Many of us will not see that messaging.

- The brutal message will be: On top of everything else, the party has now lost its way on commemorating those who died for us.

- Any pretence that the @Conservatives campaign is now any more than damage limitation has gone. It’s about keeping seats in triple figures (100+).

- The campaign made the unforced error trying desperately to narrow a vast Labour lead that’s remained largely solid since Partygate and the Mini-budget. You can’t do both of those things and expect to win.

The Green party says it had candidates in 574 seats in England and Wales by the time nominations closed at 4pm. That is a record for the party, and it means they have a candidate in all bar one of the English and Welsh constituencies.

Savanta has also released polling on what voters think about Rishi Sunak’s decision to miss part of the D-day commemorations. It suggests 68% of people view this as unacceptable, and 21% see it as acceptable.

These are very similar to the YouGov results (65% unacceptable, 21% acceptable). See 5.29pm.

All the participants in the seven-party debate have arrived at Broadcasting House in London. We posted pictures of Daisy Cooper and Carla Denyer earlier. (See 5.59pm.) Here are pictures of Angela Rayner, Nigel Farage, Rhun ap Iorwerth and Stephen Flynn.

Updated

Penny Mordaunt set to face challenges of Sunak's D-day snub in seven-party debate starting at 7.30pm

Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, will soon have the task of trying to defend Rishi Sunak over his D-day commemoration snub.

She is the spokesperson for the Tories in the first seven-party debate of the campaign, hosted by the BBC.

Mordaunt is a former defence secretary and former Royal Navy reservist. In a post on X yesterday she stressed her own reverence for D-day veterans, and it will be interesting to see to what extent she is willing to excuse Sunak, and to what extent she tries to distance herself from him. If she manages to hold her seat, she is expected to run for the Tory leadership in a post-election contest.

Angela Rayner, the deputy leader, is representing Labour, and Nigel Farage is speaking for Reform UK, which he leads. Farage was the first politician to criticise Sunak for missing the international event yesterday. Rayner has a brother who served in the army, but the Tories regularly attack her defence credentials because she voted against Trident renewal.

The other participants are: Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader; Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster; Carla Denyer, the Green party co-leader; and Rhun ap Iorwerth, the Plaid Cymru leader.

A Conservative election candidate quit after it emerged he ran a business that in the past held club nights for teenagers as young as 13, and posted pictures of the girls online.

Adam Gregg resigned today after it emerged that he ran a business that held club nights for teenagers.

Gregg, who was standing in the new Spen Valley seat in West Yorkshire, had posted photographs on social media to promote the events appearing to show girls with the words “horny” and “bitch” on their chests.

He told the Mirror, which broke the story:

If anyone has felt the events they attended, the promotion or photographs from the events were inappropriate, I sincerely apologise.

These events were of their time and I can understand how they could be viewed differently in today’s world.

I have withdrawn my candidacy from the general election to ensure this matter doesn’t in any way detract from the party’s efforts to win the Spen Valley seat, and would like to wholeheartedly thank everyone who has helped me during the campaign.

Updated

Joe Pike has written a good account for the BBC of how No 10 got the D-day decision so wrong. He says “one Conservative source has told the BBC it just did not occur to anyone at the top of the campaign that it would be a problem [for Rishi Sunak to miss the international commemorative event], especially with the G7 summit in Italy next week where the prime minister will see all the same leaders.”

Here’s an extract.

Among allies of Mr Sunak there is bafflement about how another campaign blunder came about.

“From one decision to the next I’m absolutely staggered,” one cabinet minister told me. “Who is in charge?”

Another source who knows the Downing Street team well said of Mr Sunak: “He surrounds himself with yes men and women who don’t challenge him.

“They are all young. None of them have run a campaign before aside from Isaac [Levido]”, the party’s campaign manager.

Zoe Williams has written the Guardian’s regular afternoon campaign catchup today. You can read it here.

Michael Crick, the journalist who has been monitoring candidate selections on his Tomorrow’sMPs X account, says the Conservative party has managed to field candidates in all but one British seat. They normally field candidates in all seats in Great Britain (but not Northern Ireland), but this time it was a struggle, with dozens of vacancies having to be filled at very short notice.

Conservative HQ tell me they have managed to nominate candidates in all but one seat, and that seat is “unwinnable”.

So the Conservatives are standing in 630 of the 632 seats in Great Britain - the exceptions are the Speaker’s seat, Chorley, and Rotherham where they had a late withdrawal. The Tories are also fighting five of the 18 seats in Northern Ireland.

Two hours ago nominations closed for people wanting to stand as an election candidate. A total of 132 people who were MPs in the 2019-2024 parliament have chosen not to stand, PA Media reports. PA says:

It is the second highest number of former MPs to stand down ahead of an election in modern political history.

The record is 149, which was set in 2010.

There are only four instances since the second world war of at least 100 MPs standing down ahead of a UK general election: 1945 (129), 1997 (117), 2010 (149) – and now 2024.

Of the 132 not seeking re-election this year, 75 are former Conservative MPs.

This beats the previous post-war record of 72 Tories who stood down ahead of the 1997 election.

Politicians taking part in tonight’s seven-party BBC debate have started arriving at Broadcasting House in London for the event. It starts at 7.30pm.

Unite could not endorse Labour's manifesto, sources say

Unite, one of the UK’s largest trade unions, has reportedly failed to endorse Labour’s manifesto at a meeting to finalise the party’s policy offerings.

Sources from Unite told PA that the union refused to back the document because they believed Labour had moved on a number of commitments relating to workers and industry, and were dissatisfied with the party’s stance on fire-and-rehire and oil and gas.

So far, union leaders have remained silent after the conclusion of the meeting. Reacting to the signed-off manifesto, the leftwing group Momentum said it was “deeply disappointed” that Labour has not committed to free school meals or scrapping the two-child benefit cap.

Outside the central London location where the meeting was held, senior Labour figures and union leaders hurried in and out of the venue to and from their cars, making scant remarks to the press. Heading into the meeting, Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, told reporters she was “hopeful”.

The meeting lasted about six and a half hours. Attendees entering the building were interrupted by two protests. In the morning, David Lammy was heckled by a protester from the campaign group Green New Deal Rising demanding that Labour commit to a green new deal. When the meeting finished, pro-Palestine protestors greeted those leaving the venue.

Updated

Disgraced Keith Vaz expelled from Labour as he stands for One Leicester party

The disgraced former MP Keith Vaz has been belatedly kicked out of Labour after announcing he is standing in his old seat, Leicester East, for a new local party. Rajeev Syal and Jessica Murray have the story.

Labour agrees its manifesto at 'clause V' meeting

Labour’s election manifesto has been agreed at the party’s ‘clause V’ meeting, paving the way for its official launch next week, PA Media reports.

A party spokesperson said:

Today’s meeting has endorsed Labour’s manifesto.

On July 4, the British people will have the chance to vote for change – to stop the chaos, turn the page and start to rebuild our country.

As PA reports, Rachel Reeves, Jonathan Reynolds and Ed Miliband were seen leaving the venue in central London.Most of those who had attended refused to comment on what had been agreed. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Labour-affiliated trade union Unite, was due to speak to reporters following the meeting but cancelled her appearance.

Abdi Duale, a moderate member of Labour’s NEC ruling committee, told PA that the meeting was “very positive” and was “quicker than I thought”.

The manifesto is due to be published next week.

Here is Dan Sabbagh’s analysis of the significance of Rishi Sunak’s D-day snub.

And here is Dan’s conclusion.

Labour could not quite believe the political gift that had been presented. Starmer’s party, often accused by the Conservatives of being soft on national security, was able to contrast Sunak’s rhetoric with reality. John Healey, Labour’s defence spokesperson, said: “Given that the prime minister has been campaigning on the idea young people should complete a year’s national service, what does it say that he appears to have been unable to complete a single afternoon of it?”

Two thirds of Britons think it was unacceptable for Sunak to leave D-day celebrations early, poll suggests

Two thirds of Britons think it was unacceptable for Rishi Sunak to leave the international D-day celebrations early to do an election interview, according to snap polling by YouGov. Some 43% said this was completely unacceptable, and 22% said this was somewhat unacceptable. Only 21% of people said what Sunak did was acceptable.

Outgoing Tory MP Jo Gideon criticises culture of party, saying it has allowed 'discrimination, bullying, and unethical practices to fester'

Jo Gideon, who was the Tory MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central in the last parliament but who is standing down, has posted a long thread on X criticising the internal culture of the Conservative party, and the way MPs and activists are treated by CCHQ. She is particularly angry about the way election candidates have been selected at short notice in the past two weeks, but her complaints go well beyond that.

She says she is speaking out because she wants to “expose the unethical practices that have become pervasive within the party”.

The thread starts here.

📢 Statement - Please see all tweets in this chain 📢

When I announced last year that I was not seeking re-election in Stoke Central, journalists speculated that I had been promised a safe seat elsewhere and was on a chicken run. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

And here are some of her key points.

Now, loyal and hardworking MPs face deselection, intimidation, and a dismissive attitude when raising serious complaints related to discrimination based on age, gender, and ill health.

It has become glaringly apparent that rules are applied and disapplied at a whim to benefit a chosen few.

If the Conservative Party finds itself in opposition, I hope they will use the opportunity to take a long, hard look at how they have allowed discrimination, bullying, and unethical practices to fester.

Gideon does not give details of the incidents she found objectionable, but, when she spoke about people being deselected on the grounds of health, David Duguid may have been one of the people she was thinking of. (See 10.09am.)

Ian Acheson, a Tory former prison governor who led a review of extremism in prisons for the government, has resigned from the Conservative party over the D-day commemoration snub, the Daily Telegraph reports. The Telegraph quotes from Acheson’s resignation letter, in which he says:

It was an act of either colossal stupidity or cynical calculation.

Either way, it revealed to me that while I still embrace a conservative philosophy, I am no longer willing to have it outsourced to a bunch of mendacious, incompetent and disreputable clowns.

Country before party. Always.

Acheson posted this on X.

More in Common has released some new polling this afternoon. It has Labour on a 21-point lead, which is its highest lead with More in Common since the campaign started, although the increase is within the margin of error.

NEW @Moreincommon_ voting intention has a Labour lead of 21. While changes within MoE it is the highest Labour lead of the campaign.
🔵 Con 25% (-2)
🔴 Lab 46% (-)
🟠 Lib Dem 9% (+1)
🟣 Ref UK 11% (+1)
🟢 Green 6% (+1)

N: 2,618 Dates: 5/6-7/6 Tables: https://t.co/WY1gkosDAc pic.twitter.com/Kap90wm89K

Luke Tryl, director of More in Common, says that there are some hints that, with people responding since the D-day snub row hit the news, the Labour lead is up. But he says he does not have enough data to report that with confidence.

Over 1000 of the sample are from today after the news of the PM’s decision to leave the D-Day celebrations early had been reported. While the weighting efficiency isn’t such I’d be happy reporting separate VIs the Labour lead today was somewhat higher than yesterday.

David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, told Times Radio that he thought veterans offended by Rishi Sunak missing the international D-day commemoration event were “sensible” people who would “want to move on in due course”.

A former SAS reservist, Davis also said that none of his military veteran friends had contacted him to complain about what happened.

But Robert Shrimsley from the FT says he is being told campaigners are already hearing voters bring this issue up on the doorsteps.

Hearing consistently now that the D-Day error has absolutely cut through to voters and is already being brought up frequently on doorsteps

And Sam Freedman, who writes what he says is the UK’s most popular Substack politics blog, says polling companies they are already seeing an impact in the polling they are doing today.

And I’m hearing from today’s samples from several pollsters that it’s already visible in the data.

The deadline for the delivery of nomination papers for people wanting to be a candidate in the general election passed a few minutes ago, at 4pm. And the deadline for withdrawing nominations also passed at 4pm.

The Electoral Commission has full details of all the election deadlines here.

Union asks Tories and Labour to agree to stop asking civil servants to cost opposition policies

Earlier this week Gus O’Donnell, the former cabinet secretary, said the rule allowing ministers to ask civil servants to cost opposition policies should be scrapped. The FDA, the union that represents senior civil servants, is now formally proposing this in letters sent to Rishi Sunak and to Keir Starmer.

Dave Penman, the FDA general secretary, said:

The civil service is not independent. It offers impartial advice but it loyally serves the government of the day, no matter the colour.
That makes this whole practice of using the civil service to cost opposition policies highly questionable; they will never be ‘independent’ calculations as they’re based on politically partial assumptions and completed at the direction of ministers. Dragging civil servants into political mudslinging during an election campaign undermines the impartiality of the civil service at a crucial time when they may be preparing to support a change of government.

Earlier this week Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general, told the BBC earlier this week that she personally agreed with a ban on civil servants costing opposition policies, but it is understood this is not Labour’s official position.

Here is Rishi Sunak looking at a laptop on a visit to Great Oldbury Primary Academy in Stonehouse this afternoon. We hope, for his sake, he’s not looking at Twitter …

Who gets to be the official opposition if two biggest losing parties have same number of MPs?

Yesterday a reader asked (I paraphrase – I can’t find the original):

Who gets to be the official opposition party if the two biggest losting parties both have the same number of MPs?

This question is probably prompted by the Electoral Calculus predictive polling model suggesting that the Conservatives are on course to get just 75 seats, and the Liberal Democrats 61. Some other MRP polls suggest the Tories will do better. The Survation MRP suggests they will get 71 seats, but it has the Lib Dems on 43 seats. Electoral Calculus seems to be the model implying the Lib Dems have the best chance of coming neck and neck with the Tories.

And if they were tied, who would be the official opposition?

This is quite an important question because, in the House of Commons, the official opposition gets a whole series of perks and privileges not available to the smaller opposition parties. Some of them are explained here, in Erskine May. For example, only leader of the opposition gets to put six questions to the PM at PMQs, and only the official opposition can table a motion of no confidence in the government that will prioritised for debate. At Holyrood and in the Senedd the biggest opposition party does not get privileged to the same extent.

There is no precedent for two parties being tied for the official opposition slot. And the House of Commons press office was unable to tell me what would happen in these circumstances.

But a source said there is a clue in the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975, which implies it would be up to the speaker to decide. The Act says:

If any doubt arises as to which is or was at any material time the party in opposition to Her Majesty’s Government having the greatest numerical strength in the House of Commons, or as to who is or was at any material time the leader in that House of such a party, the question shall be decided for the purposes of this Act by the speaker of the House of Commons, and his decision, certified in writing under his hand, shall be final and conclusive.

Perhaps the speaker would decide to award official opposition party status to the party with the most votes. Alternatively, they could try to opt for some sort of sharing arrangement.

The first big speech given by Keir Starmer in the election campaign had the title “Country first, party second”. He was talking about Labour, and making a contrast with Rishi Sunak, who he claimed did not put the national interest first. Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, has just been on Sky News to attack Sunak over the D-day snub and he argued that this incident proved Starmer’s point. Ashworth said:

My reaction was one a shock.

There can be nothing more important for the prime minister of our great country to truly honour the fallen, to pay tribute to those who served and fought for our freedoms and, indeed, to pay tribute to those who serve today.

And I think this tells you something about Rishi Sunak. This disrespect is shocking, but I think he reveals something unbecoming about both his judgement and his character.

And I think people will be to today asking, what type of person thinks it’s more important to rush away from an event like this, to go and do a interview to try and score political points to save his own skin, than truly honour the fallen?

I think it shows you ultimately that Rishi Sunak will put political party ahead of country.

That said, some journalists are arguing that Labour don’t need to intervene in this story because it is damaging enough anyway. This is from Robert Shrimsley, the FT’s chief political commentator, responding to an intervention from shadow defence secretary John Healey earlier. (See 10.58am.)

Labour should stay out of this one. The media will do all their work for them on this. Jumping in is the wrong look look when you are saying this was above politics.

Rob Powell from Sky News, who is on the campaign trail with Rishi Sunak this afternoon, says the location for this afternoon’s event is aptly named, given the story of the day.

Sunak suggests he was never scheduled to attend international leaders' D-day event anyway

When politicians make a mistake, it is often best to apologise swiftly, instead of refusing to admit the error, allowing outrage to escalate, and then having to say sorry a bit later anyway. In D-daygate, Rishi Sunak did get his apology in relatively quickly.

But there are two aspects of the apology/explanation given by Sunak (see 12.01pm) that have the potential to make his situation worse.

1) Sunak is suggesting he was never scheduled to attend the international leaders’ event anyway. “The itinerary for these events was set weeks ago before the start of the general election campaign,” he told Sky. But this implies he was all set to snub the international D-day commemoration even when he did not have a general election campaign as an excuse. Commentators are pointing out that this looks worse.

This is from James Ball from the New European.

Rishi Sunak’s current D-Day explanation is that he hadn’t planned to attend the full ceremonies even before it was taking place during an election.

Isn’t that…worse? Does he not see that’s worse?

And this is from Sky’s Beth Rigby.

PM in apologises for leaving D-Day event early, explains “itinerary was set wks ago b4 GE campaign” > As an explanation, Q then is why it was always scheduled for PM to leave event early regardless of GE, given elderly veterans had come all the way & prob 4 the last time

2) Sunak is suggesting that it is wrong for opposition parties to “politicise” his error. “I think it’s important though, given the enormity of the sacrifice made, that we don’t politicise this,” he told Sky. But this argument is problematic for at least two reasons. First, it is astonishingly naive to think that how the PM deals with important national commemorations should not be a political matter, and a factor in whether or not voters think he is the right person for the job. And, second, it is also arguably hypocritical, given that Sunak left France to record a TV interview in which he attacked Labour.

This is from Jon Sopel from the News Agents podcast.

Sorry, did @RishiSunak really just say that his return early from D-Day to give an interview to ITV’s @PaulBrandITV so he could attack Starmer should not be politicised???? I mean, this raises chutzpah into an art form…..

And this is from Adam Bienkov from Byline Times.

“I don’t think it’s right to be political in the midst of D-Day commemorations” says Rishi Sunak, who skipped out of the D-Day commemorations in order to take part in a televised interview devoted to repeating his campaign attacks on his political opponents.

Here is John Crace’s election diary of the week.

And here is an extract from what he says about Rishi Sunak’s D-day commemorations snub.

Only last week, Sunak was talking about the importance of young people giving something back to society through national service. Maybe he should sign up himself. The reason Sunak had skipped off home turned out to be that he wanted to give an interview to ITV in which he lied about not being a liar. You couldn’t make this stuff up.

Good afternoon. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Martin Belam. I will be here for the rest of the afternoon and I will be covering the BBC’s seven-party debate starting at 7.30pm. (See 9.42am for details).

It has been open season on Rishi Sunak this morning, but on Radio 4’s the World at One Chris Philp, the policing minister, demonstrated why he is a No 10 favourite for media round duty. He said that Sunak’s decision to miss the international D-day event yesterday afternoon was a mistake, but that the PM deserved credit for his apology. Philp said:

He’s acknowledged this morning that was a mistake, he should have gone and he’s apologised.

It’s quite rare in politics actually to get sort of an immediate and fulsome apology from a politician. I can’t think of that many occasions when it’s happened before, certainly not so quickly.

Philp clearly has not read what the Guardian style guide has to say about the use of the word fulsome.

If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line (BTL) or message me on X (Twitter). I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word. If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use X; I’ll see something addressed to @AndrewSparrow very quickly. I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos (no error is too small to correct). And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.

Updated

Here is the video clip of Rishi Sunak’s on camera explanation of leaving the 80th anniversary D-day commemorations early.

And on that note, that is it from me, Martin Belam. I am also going to skip out early, and hand you on to Andrew Sparrow for the rest of the day.

Here are some more pictures from the campaign trail today …

Regular readers will know that I am an absolute sucker for pictures of unusual transport, so I couldn’t help but notice this beauty from Conservative candidate for Swindon South, Robert Buckland.

Cameron: 'not surprising' Sunak left D-day events early as 'we are in the middle of an election campaign'

Senior figures in the Conservative party have been defending Rishi Sunak over his decision to leave France yesterday before the 80th anniversary D-day commemorations had finished.

Foreign secretary David Cameron, who did attend the international leader’s event, said:

I think it is a tribute to the way he is that he thought on reflection he wished he had stayed in France and instead of digging in and defending himself he just came straight out and said on reflection I wish I had stayed longer.

But to be fair, he was at the Portsmouth event with all the veterans., gave a brilliant speech, he was at the British event at our brand new built commemorative centre above Gold Beach in Normandy where he was with the veterans, gave a fantastic speech.

He always represents our country very well abroad and he had a longstanding plan to return after that and we are in the middle of an election campaign so that is not surprising.

Sunak had earlier suggested the intinerary was set before the election was called.

Veterans minister Johnny Mercer has also weighed in again. In a social media message reposted by business secretary Kemi Badenoch, he said “Everyone who actually knows Rishi knows how this moment is not reflective on his views on veterans.”

Sunak told Sky News “people can judge me by my actions when it comes to supporting the armed forces.”

Adm Lord West, the former head of the Royal Navy, was less impressed. He told the BBC World at One “I’d have thought he’d have been desperate to be involved in such a major, major event of such significance to so many millions of people across the UK. I find it very strange that he should do such an own goal, I mean it comes across so badly.”

Cameron ultimately took Sunak’s place in the photographs of the world leader lineup. The Liberal Democrats have portrayed the image as showing Sunak in a “dereliction of duty”.

John Swinney has said he is “disgusted” by what appears to have been Conservative leader in Scotland Douglas Ross’s last minute decision to bump David Duguid from running in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat and run himself.

PA report Swinney told reporters:

What has happened there is the most despicable way to treat somebody who is facing illness. For Douglas Ross to essentially require the removal of David Duguid, who was perfectly prepared to stand for election, just to create a new pathway for Douglas Ross to have a new opportunity, is a new low for even Douglas Ross. I am disgusted by it, horrified by it, I think it is no way to treat another human being.

Swinney said the SNP’s chances of winning the seat are now “a great deal better” because of Ross’s decision.

Updated

Sky News have been showing a clip of an interview with a 98-year-old veteran in Normandy today about yesterday’s events. Ken Hay told viewers “What can you say? They are politicians. They are politicians”.

Asked about Sunak leaving early when Biden, Macron and Scholz all stayed, he observed that Rishi Sunak had departed because “he’s electioneering”.

Hay continued:

I think he let’s the country down, you know. It’s not representation of how we’re trying to weld things together to keep the peace. Blimey it’s bad enough with what Putin’s doing. And the Chinese possibly doing it, not necessarily in warfare but in other forms. What are we doing? We bail out. Let them get on with it. Because I want to stand in the election. I want my seat back.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said that Rishi Sunak’s decision to leave D-day commemoration events early yesterday was “inexplicable”, while also taking the opportunity to criticise Sinn Féin first minister Michelle O’Neill for not attending.

In a statement, Robinson said:

The debt we owe to those men who led the D-day landings is immeasurable. Rishi Sunak returned to the UK to participate in a democratic election campaign which is only possible because of the sacrifices on D-day. His decision to leave early is inexplicable.

There were veterans, aged over one hundred or in their late nineties, who travelled to remember their friends and comrades on the Normandy beaches. Despite their frailty, they stayed to the end.

I am glad our deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly was in Normandy this week to represent Northern Ireland alongside the first ministers of Scotland and Wales.

With men from across the island being remembered, I am disappointed that the deputy first minister was alone in Normandy and the other half of the joint office was absent.

Updated

Sunak's D-day decision shows 'completely disconnected' from centre of Britain and 'not a patriotic leader', says Farage

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has spoken to Sky News about the row over Rishi Sunak’s early departure from D-day commemoration events in Normandy, saying Sunak was not “a patriotic leader of the Conservative party.”

He told viewers:

This was the last time ever there’ll be a gathering of veterans on parade in Normandy, and if he’s not prepared to go to the international commemoration with the heads of so many different countries, overlooking a beach [on] which our American allies lost thousands of men, that says a lot about him.

He is completely disconnected from the centre of this country and he’s proved to me that he basically is not a patriotic leader of the Conservative party.

Farage was in Normandy himself yesterday, “in a personal capacity” he posted to social media. In another message earlier today Farage said “I was honoured to help raise £100,000 for the Taxi charity to send veterans back to Normandy. It was a pleasure to meet them at the various events. Rishi Sunak could not even be bothered to attend the international event above Omaha Beach. Who really believes in our people, him or me?”

Updated

I mentioned earlier that the BBC have announced dates for interview programmes with party leaders being asked questioned by Nick Robinson [See 10.18 BST]. Keir Starmer was not yet on the list. My colleague Peter Walker has been told by Labour that this is a scheduling question at the moment, rather than any indication that Starmer would not participate.

David Lammy was heckled by a protester demanding Labour commit to a green new deal while entering a pivotal meeting to finalise the party’s manifesto policies.

Kate Anderson, 26, who confronted David Lammy, said: “For young people like me up and down the country, it feels like the Labour party is throwing our future away. They promised to invest £28bn to tackle the climate crisis, then U-turned. They promised to scrap tuition fees, then U-turned. They promised to tax the super-wealthy to invest into our crumbling public services, then U-turned on that too.”

She added that people were voting for the party “through gritted teeth”.

“I’m not a Labour member because I’ve never felt inspired to join the Labour party,” she said, adding she had voted for the party under Jeremy Corbyn in 2019.

Most of the senior Labour figures and union officials entering the central London venture were tight lipped. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, told reporters she was “hopeful”.

The Guardian reported yesterday that the manifesto is expected to include a pledge to recognise Palestine before the end of any peace process, in an effort to shore up the party’s flagging support on the left. Other policies under consideration include the lowering of retirement ages for ambulance drivers and a pledge to recruit more teachers.

Labour press officers said all major attendees were now in the building. The meeting is set to last well into afternoon.

My colleague Jessica Elgot suggests that Rishi Sunak’s line that yesterday’s itinerary was set out weeks ago makes Sunak’s decision not to attend the international leader portion of events in Normandy yesterday “even more incomprehensible”.

There doesn’t appear to be any way of looking at this except as a terrible day for Sunak’s campaign. The decision to leave David Cameron alongside Macron, Scholz and Biden would have been terrible optics for the prime minister even outside an election campaign.

It is an entirely self-inflicted situation which Sunak now says "on reflection” was a mistake, and that it should not be politicised. In a campaign where the Tories are being pushed from the right by the Reform UK, and in which the Tories seems to be setting out their stall to shore up their vote with the older Leave-voting demographic, to appear to have snubbed veterans seems like one of the worst moves you could make.

And then being questioned about it by the media saw Sunak at one point be asked “you seem more exasperated than apologetic” as he stuck to pre-prepared lines and appeared at his most tetchy about having to engage with criticism.

Our environment reporter Helena Horton has an analysis piece today asking who are the wealthy climate sceptics funding rightwing UK politics. You can read it here:

The Scottish Greens will field a record 44 candidates at the general election as the party accused opponents of trying to sweep the climate emergency “under the rug”, PA reports.

Co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater confirmed the party has surpassed its previous 2015 record of 31 candidates. 19 Greens were on ballot papers in 2019.

Slater told PA:

Of course, first-past-the-post voting such as we have at Westminster isn’t very democratic and it’s quite difficult for small parties to actually win seats.

This is a really good opportunity for us to get out there, get the Scottish Green message heard, and as standing as candidates we make sure that the climate emergency is mentioned at every opportunity. We won’t let other parties sweep it under the rug.

Slater said the record number of candidates was a “significant indication of our growth as a party”.

Rishi Sunak told broadcasters “I also don’t think it’s right to be political in the midst of D-day commemorations. The focus should rightly be on the veterans and their service and sacrifice for our country.”

He also went on to say he wanted the government to “build on our record of making sure that this is the best country in the world for veterans.”

During his interview, it was put to Rishi Sunak on Sky News “you sound more exasperated than apologetic,” and he was told that one of the veterans who had attended the event had said Sunak “let the country down”.

Sunak replied back with his prepared line: “I participated in events both in Portsmouth and in France over two days.”

In fact during the six minute exchange he repeated words along the lines of “the itinerary for these events was sent weeks ago before the general election campaign. I participated in events both in Portsmouth and in France and having fully participated in all the British events with British veterans” four times.

Sunak denies there was any plan for him not to attend D-day events

Asked directly by the media “Did you or anyone around you ever consider skipping the events” in Normandy.

Sunak said “That’s simply not right. The itinerary for these events was set weeks ago, before the general election campaign.”

He told Sky News “I stuck to the itinerary.”

Updated

Sunak says his D-day error should not be 'politicised' after he apologises for leaving commemoration early

Rishi Sunak has said that D-day commemoration events should not be “politicised” after he faced a barrage of criticism for leaving the 80th anniversary commemorations in Normandy yesterday.

Speaking to broadcasters while out campaigning in the south-west of England he said:

The itinerary for these events was set weeks ago before the start of the general election campaign, and having participated in all the British events with British veterans, I returned home before the international leaders event later in the day. On reflection, that was a mistake and I apologise.

I think it’s important though, given the enormity of the sacrifice made, that we don’t politicise this. The focus should rightly be on the veterans who gave so much.

I had the honour and privilege of speaking to many of them and their families, hearing their stories, expressing my gratitude, personally to them.

But I’m someone who will always admit when I’ve made a mistake and that’s what you’ll always get from me.

A Downing Street spokesperson earlier denied reports that Sunak had not been intending to attend at all, saying “The prime minister was always scheduled to attend D-day commemorations, including the UK national commemoration event in Normandy, and it is incorrect to suggest otherwise.”

Sunak himself also denied the reports.

Updated

David Duguid, the candidate apparently elbowed out from standing in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East so that Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross can stand there instead, has issued a robust statement saying it is simply incorrect for anybody to have claimed he was “unable to stand”.

He posted to social media to say:

I must however clear up a factual inaccuracy. It has been reported and repeated that I am “unable to stand”. This is simply incorrect. Having been adopted by local members, I was very much looking forward to campaigning – albeit in a different format from normal. It was not my decision not to stand.

It was the SCU Management Board that decided not to allow me to be the candidate although none of them had visited me. They apparently took this decision based on two visits from the party director and without receiving any professional medical prognosis.

Needless to say I am very saddened by the way this whole episode has unfolded and it would be wrong of me to pretend otherwise.

The statement continues that the process to replace him with Ross is “well underway” and finishes by thanking constituents for their support over the last seven years.

The deadline for election nominations is 4pm today.

Rishi Sunak is out campaigning in the south-west of England today. He is scheduled to make a couple of media appearances at visits during the day, and also to give a campaign speech at an event late in the afternoon. Some pictures have dropped on the newswires of him at a children’s centre in Swindon.

Here is the video clip of Keir Starmer speaking earlier about Rishi Sunak’s absence from some of yesterday’s D-day commemorations in France.

Starmer: election is about 'character' and 'it was my duty' to be at D-day events

Here are a few more words from Keir Starmer about his attendance at D-day commemoration events in France yesterday, in which he appeared to question Rishi Sunak’s character and understanding of duty as prime minister. He said there was “not a discussion” about whether he would attend.

Starmer said:

And this election is about character, who you have in your mind’s eye when you make decisions.

And for me there was only one place I was going to be, which is there to pay my respects to the veterans.

And to say thank you to them on behalf of all of us, including my young children who, as I said to many of the veterans, were pretty carefree yesterday going to school. But that was down to their sacrifice, and the sacrifice particularly of those colleagues of theirs who didn’t make it back.

I made a choice yesterday about what I would do as leader of the Labour party and as a candidate to be prime minister and I knew I should be there. This was not a discussion.

It was my duty to be there, it was my privilege to be there.

Privilege is a word that is probably overused in politics but I felt privileged to be able to be with veterans who had fought on D-day against the odds to liberate Europe and to allow me to grow up in peace and freedom and democracy.

ONS figures suggest cost of living crisis and NHS are the most pressing issues for voters

Phillip Inman is economics editor of the Observer and an economics writer for the Guardian

Somewhat contrary to claims earlier in the week by the former Reform UK leader Richard Tice that 2024 was going to be “the immigration election”, polling by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) between 22 May to 2 June shows that adults in England, Wales and Scotland are less concerned about immigration than they were last year.

The ONS said the most commonly reported issue was the cost of living (87%) and the NHS (85%), followed by the economy (68%), crime (60%), housing (57%), and climate change and the environment (56%).

In a blow to the Reform UK party, the subject was a concern for 52% of people polled, which compares with a 54% level in the polling conducted just over six months ago, between 15 and 22 of November last year.

The ONS said lower order issues facing Britain acccording to the poll were international conflict (48%) and education (46%).

More than half of those polled said their cost of living had increased over the last month. The ONS said people reported being hit by higher food shopping bills (91%), fuel (58%) or their gas and electricity bills (50%).

Swinney: 'foolish' D-day decision shows election 'all over' for Tories, but warns Labour will deliver 'Tory spending cuts'

Scotland’s first minister John Swinney has urged Scotland to vote for “a future made in Scotland, for Scotland”, saying that the campaign is “all over” for the Conservatives, but cautioning that Labour in Westminster would deliver “Tory spending cuts” for his country.

Swinney told supporters in Glasgow:

It is becoming ever more clear that it’s over for the Conservative Party. And if it wasn’t all over before the prime minister’s foolish decision to turn his back on the D-day commemorations and return home to perpetuate the baseless claim he made on Tuesday in the television debate, it certainly is over now.

So in this election, people in Scotland have got to think long and hard about whether they want to vote for a Labour party that will deliver Tory spending cuts, or do they want to vote for the Scottish National party that will invest in the future of Scotland and put Scotland’s interests first?

That is the appeal I make to people in Scotland today. This is our chance. To vote SNP to put Scotland’s interests and Scotland’s national health service first. This is an opportunity for people to vote SNP for a future made in Scotland, for Scotland.

John Swinney has been campaigning today in Glasgow – more of that in a monent – but he has added his comment to the row over Rishi Sunak’s decision to leave D-day commemoration services in France yesterday before events had finished.

The SNP leader and first minister of Scotland said:

I took a very conscious decision that, for the 48 hours I was involved in the memorial and observation of the sacrifices that have been made, I would, essentially, not be engaged in this election campaign. I have deliberately exercised my responsibilities as first minister to focus entirely on the D-day commemorations.

Starmer: Sunak will have to 'answer for his choice' over D-day absence

Labour leader Keir Starmer has told broadcasters “there was nowhere else I was going to be” other than at D-day commemoration events, and that the prime minister will have to “answer for his own actions.”

During a visit in Greater London on Friday, the Labour leader said:

Rishi Sunak will have to answer for his choice. For me there was only one choice, which was to be there, to pay my respects, to say thank you and to have the opportunity to speak to those veterans.

Asked whether the prime minister’s apology draws a line under the row, Starmer said: “He has to answer for his own actions, for me there was nowhere else I was going to be.”

Sunak has apologised for leaving D-day anniversary events early to take part in a TV interview, admitting it was “a mistake not to stay in France longer”. Foreign secretary David Cameron to take his place in the late afternoon ceremony at Omaha beach on Thursday.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has said Sunak brought “shame” on the office of prime minister.

Shadow defence secretary John Healey has written to defence secretary Grant Shapps with a specific set of questions including “Did the prime minister himself suggest that this was not the best use of his time? If not the prime minister, who did?” and also pointed out that “Given that the prime minister has been campaigning on the idea young people should complete a year’s national service, what does it say that he appears to have been unable to complete a single afternoon of it?”

Sunak’s party appear to being squeezed from the right by Reform UK in polling, and the recently installed Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said “Patriotic people who love their country should not vote for [Sunak].”

Veterans minister Johnny Mercer, however, has said he has found “faux outrage” from people he claimed were preventing veterans’ affairs from being improved “nauseating”.

Updated

Shadow defence secretary John Healey has added to the pressure facing the Conservatives over Rishi Sunak’s decision to cut short his trip to France for D-day commemorations by writing to defence secretary Grant Shapps with a specific set of questions.

Healey writes “Yesterday, Britain and our allies came together to commemorate the events of D-day. As one, we paid our respects to the brave Allied forces who gave their lives for our freedom. 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.”

“As secretary of state for defence, I know you will share those concerns,” the letter continues, and then asks specifically:

  • When was the decision made for the prime minister to skip yesterday’s D-day commemoration?

  • Did the prime minister himself suggest that this was not the best use of his time? If not the prime minister, who did?

  • Did he record the television interview with ITV while D-Day events were still going on in Normandy?

  • Reports in the media attributed to Conservative Campaign Headquarters on Wednesday morning claimed the prime minister was “giving the next two days over to D-day out of respect”. Did they know this to be untrue at the time? If not, when was the decision made to cut short the prime minister’s attendance at the D-day ceremonies?

  • The French government are reported to have said they were told a week ago that the prime minister would not attend the D-day 80th commemoration. Is this true?

  • Do you believe that the prime minister apologising in a social media post is sufficient? Will you encourage the prime minister to make a further, fuller statement of apology?

  • Given that the prime minister has been campaigning on the idea young people should complete a year’s national service, what does it say that he appears to have been unable to complete a single afternoon of it?

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

Hannah Al-Othman is a North of England correspondent for the Guardian

It is a family affair in Hyndburn in Lancashire, where the Tory incumbent Sara Britcliffe is being challenged by her own first cousin.

Matthew Britcliffe is standing for George Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain on 4 July. He had joined the Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn, campaigned for them in the last general election, and cites the late radical Labour MP Tony Benn as his most inspirational political figure.

Sara Britcliffe was elected in 2019; then just 24-years-old, she became the youngest Conservative MP. Labour had previously held the seat since 1992.

Matthew Britcliffe has criticised his cousin for voting in favour of dumping raw sewage in rivers, and voting against a ceasefire in Gaza, and said “the last five years have been horrific, and we simply cannot afford another five years like that.”

“My desire to do the right thing is what has caused me to now stand to represent the constituency of my father’s family,” he said in a statement. “My family has been part of East Lancashire’s history through the age of industrialisation, and I well understand how most of us came to be here in the first place.”

“Days after the [2019] election, my father told me I had a cousin, who I’d never heard of, and that she had been elected to parliament as a Tory MP,” he continued. “It was disappointing news, and didn’t get any better. A vote for dumping more sewage in our rivers, and a vote against a ceasefire in Gaza: two votes of Sara’s which stood out to me.”

Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, Sara Britcliffe has said that “Matthew is an estranged family member with whom I have no contact due to personal reasons.”

She said she does not believe that her cousin lives in the constituency, adding: “it is important to note that we do share the same last name and that I will be the second name down on the ballot paper.”

Veterans minister Johnny Mercer has had some combative words over those criticising Rishi Sunak’s early D-day exit, saying “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.”

PA Media quotes him saying to the Sun that he understood the outrage and that it was a significant mistake. He told the paper:

I get the outrage. It’s a mistake. It’s a significant mistake for which he’s apologised.

But 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. Obviously it’s a mistake. The prime minister on these visits receives a lot of advice on what he should and shouldn’t be doing.

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.

Mercer has represented Plymouth Moor View since 2015, and is standing again at this election.

Matthew Pennycook, the shadow housing minister, was out promoting the Labour policy on the media round this morning. He told viewers of Sky News:

It’s a new policy that will allow first time buyers, through a comprehensive and permanent mortgage guarantee scheme, to get on the housing ladder.

So home ownership for far too many young people is now a pipe dream. We’ve seen rates of home ownership among the young almost half since the 1980s. Now a majority of 20 to 24-year-olds are living at home, people delaying starting families, because they can’t buy their own home. So we need to do something about that. The government’s record on this has been woeful.

The scheme, we think, will help around 80,000 people. People who can afford mortgage payments, but perhaps can’t afford that large deposit they need. Perhaps they haven’t got help from the “bank of mum and dad” to get on the housing ladder. It is part of our comprehensive plan to address the housing crisis, boost economic growth, and unlock opportunity.”

He also spoke about social housing, accusing the government of “the net loss of 14,000 genuinely affordable social rented each and every year.”

He said:

We’ve got to build more of these genuinely affordable social rented homes, as well as take action on the empty and vacant possessions if you like. And that’s exactly what we plan to do.

Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner launch Labour's 'freedom to buy' housing policy

Senior members of the Labour team are expected to spend much of the day holed up to iron out the party’s draft manifesto ahead of publication expected next week, but for public consumption today they have been promoting their “freedom to buy” housing policy.

As my colleague Jane Croft has written:

Labour has said that, if it wins the general election, it will make permanent a mortgage guarantee scheme aimed at helping low-deposit mortgages become available for first-time buyers.

The temporary scheme, which involves the government acting as a guarantor for part of a home loan, was introduced by the Conservatives in 2021 and was extended until July next year by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt. It is aimed at encouraging lenders to offer low-deposit deals to first-time buyers.

Labour believes its plan, which will be rebranded “Freedom to buy”, will help 80,000 young people buy their own homes over the next five years.

Jim Waterson is the Guardian’s political media editor

Sunak’s decision to head home early from D-day could have been explained away by a claim to be working on official business. Unfortunately, his cover was blown after it was revealed he had spent some of the afternoon recording an interview with ITV political journalist Paul Brand.

Extraordinarily, that interview will not be shown in full until next Wednesday night. It was part of a series of pre-recorded ITV interviews with political party leaders that will be broadcast throughout the election campaign – meaning Sunak could have recorded it at any point in the next four days.

On Thursday evening ITV decided to release a short taster clip from the longer interview, in which Sunak was challenged about his tax claims, hoping to attract some coverage ahead of Friday night’s televised debate between party representatives. Instead, the clip mainly served to highlight what Sunak had been up to when he headed back early from Normandy.

Brand, whose reporting helped bring down Boris Johnson during the partygate scandal, told viewers on ITV News: “Today was the slot we were offered … we don’t know why.”

It has often been mooted there should be some kind of role for the Electoral Commission in defining a set of rules around TV debates and interviews during an election campaign to either compel participation, or to avoid the airwaves being flooded. Tonight’s seven-way debate on BBC is the third of ten so far scheduled debates.

The BBC has just now issued a press release detailing a series of interviews that Nick Robinson is carrying out with party leaders. You may recall that Boris Johnson avoiding an interview with Andrew Neil in a similar BBC series of shows became a subplot of the 2019 election.

For this time around, the BBC has announced this schedule:

  • Monday 10 June at 8pm – Rishi Sunak, Conservatives

  • Tuesday 11 June at 10.40pm – Nigel Farage, Reform UK

  • Wednesday 12 June at 7pm (BBC One and BBC One Scotland) – John Swinney, SNP

  • Wednesday 12 June at 7pm (BBC One Wales) – Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid Cymru

  • Tuesday 18 June at 10.40pm – Adrian Ramsay, Green party of England and Wales

  • Friday 28 June at 8.30pm – Ed Davey, Liberal Democrats

The BBC says it “has also invited Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour party, to be interviewed by Nick Robinson.”

Euro 2024 fixtures, the split of which was agreed a while ago by BBC and ITV, are also a factor interfering with the election broadcast calendar this year, as presumably nobody wants their slot to go up against an England or a Scotland match. The tournament starts with Germany v Scotland on 14 June.

Libby Brooks is the Guardian’s Scotland correspondent

The row over Douglas Ross apparently elbowing out another candidate who is recovering from serious illness in hospital shows no sign of abating this morning.

As we reported yesterday, the Scottish Tory leader made the surprise announcement that he would be standing for another Westminster seat – having insisted he was focusing on his Holyrood duties as an MSP – and none was more surprised than David Duguid, the anticipated candidate, who had been adopted by the local branch but was then blocked by the party’s management board for health reasons.

Overnight, Duguid’s local supporters have been out in force, condemning his treatment, while opposition voices have variously described Ross’s behaviour as “tawdry”, “shamefull” and “a betrayal”.

This morning Ross gave a lengthy interview to BBC Radio Scotland in which he insisted the management board was concerned “about the rigours of the election campaign and indeed the next five years as a member of parliament”.

Ross denied this was “an insurance option” for his career, and when it was put to him that colleagues at Holyrood were unhappy about his U-turn, Ross said these were “very unique circumstances” and repeated that he “wanted to lead from the front” in a key SNP target seat.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting has added to a chorus of disapproval of Rishi Sunak’s actions yesterday, saying it showed “the supreme arrogance of someone who thinks their time matters most and who doesn’t really understand what service means.”

Alex Cole-Hamilton, the Liberal Democrat leader in Scotland, has commented on Rishi Sunak’s decision to leave D-day commemorations in France early. He said:

During elections there are moments in time that don’t just punctuate the campaign, but can define or even end an entire career. Rishi Sunak’s abandonment of the D-day commemorations and the veterans we honour on the beaches of Normandy feels like one such moment.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has also commented, saying “Patriotic people who love their country should not vote for him.”

The big set-piece of the day is the seven-way BBC debate. Andrew Sparrow will be here later on to pick up the blog and cover that for you.

The BBC invited party leaders or “senior figures” to represent the parties at the debate, which is on at 7.30pm for 90 minutes. Penny Mordaunt, leader of the Commons, will represent the Conservative party in the debate tonight. You can imagine, given that she is standing in the fiercely proud port constituency of Portsmouth North, how thrilled she must be at the fact that Rishi Sunak’s D-day flit is sure to come up.

Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, will speak for the official opposition. The Liberal Democrats will be represented by Daisy Cooper, their deputy leader. They will be joined by Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader at Westminster.

Three party leaders did accept the invite: Carla Denyer, Green party of England and Wales co-leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid Cymru, and Nigel Farage, the freshly installed leader of Reform UK, will make up the seven.

No parties from Northern Ireland are represented.

Mishal Husain is in the chair, and in a somewhat inside baseball* moment this morning she was interviewed on the BBC about the prospect of chairing the debate for the BBC. She was asked how she was going to keep control of a seven-way debate, and rather pointedly suggested that it gives the chance to the politicians appearing to communicate to viewers in ways other than simply in what they say.

[*I suspect putting the phrase inside baseball into the live blog is somewhat inside baseball itself]

Jessica Murray is the Guardian’s Midlands correspondent

The disgraced former Labour MP Keith Vaz has announced he is standing for election in his old seat, Leicester East, for a new local party.

Vaz will be taking on Labour, as well as his successor Claudia Webbe, who is standing as an independent candidate after being expelled from Labour over a conviction for harassment in 2021.

Vaz was the MP for Leicester East for 32 years, from 1987-2019, before he stepped down as a candidate after being caught in a tabloid sting offering to acquire cocaine for sex workers.

In a leaflet distributed to voters in the seat this week, Vaz said: “It was the greatest privilege of my life to serve as MP for Leicester East for over three decades. I absolutely love Leicester.

“Today, I am shocked with what I see. Despite so many opportunities, Leicester is unrecognisable, and on the edge of bankruptcy.

“Many people have urged me to stand again. I have decided to do so and accept the nomination of Leicester’s newest party, One Leicester, to be their candidate for one more term. Although I have always held Labour values, I promise to put Leicester first and party politics second.”

Vaz told the Guardian last year that he would not stand as an MP again, saying: “That ship has sailed.”

I think it would be fair to say that children’s minister David Johnston is not having a vintage media round today.

First he was ambushed by Rishi Sunak issuing his D-day absence apology while the minister was literally out defending Sunak by repeatedly pointing out that he had been in France earlier in the day and in Portsmouth the day before [See 8.18 BST].

He was also out trying to promote Tory election promises on child benefit, when it turned out on LBC that he doesn’t appear to know how much child benefit is …

Nick Ferrari asked him “Just for my listeners who are not familiar … how much is child allowance?”

Johnston replied “That I’m afraid I don’t know. It’s actually not a department for education policy. This is a DWP one. And I’m afraid I don’t know the exact …”

Ferrari interrupted saying “Sorry, is you title minister for children? But you don’t know what the child allowance is”

Johnston said sheepishly “Well we don’t run the benefits. I’m afraid you’re right. I should have found out before I came on here.”

(For reference, there are two child benefit rates, it is £25.60 for an eldest or only child, and £16.95 per additional child. The two-child benefit cap, which prevents parents from claiming child tax credit or universal credit for more than two children, was introduced by the Conservative Government in 2017.)

Ed Davey: Sunak 'abandoned' veterans, 'let down our country', and has 'brought shame' to office of PM

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said Rishi Sunak’s actions in leaving D-day commemorations in France early had brought shame to the office of prime minister.

PA Media report he said:

One of the greatest privileges of the office of prime minister is to be there to honour those who served, yet Rishi Sunak abandoned them on the beaches of Normandy.

He has brought shame to that office and let down our country.

I am thinking right now of all those veterans and their families he left behind and the hurt they must be feeling. It is a total dereliction of duty and shows why this Conservative Government just has to go.

Sunak has apologised, saying “After the conclusion of the British event in Normandy, I returned back to the UK. On reflection, it was a mistake not to stay in France longer – and I apologise.”

Sky News political correspondent Tamara Cohen has also posted to social media to say she feels it is a “significant” campaign moment. She said “Tories fighting for their seats see it as unforgivable unforced error – after the party has tried to appeal to older voters with announcements like national service.”

She added “Unless there was something else going on here than desire to do a political interview, feels significant.”

Rishi Sunak is being accused of “not getting what it is to be a prime minister” after skipping the major international D-day ceremony, former Downing Street communications chief Craig Oliver has said.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that D-day was known about as soon as Sunak called the general election.

“And I think if you’re planning these things, you’ve got to say ‘look, that’s going to block the prime minister out’. It’s a very important moment for the country. But it’s also a very important moment to show that you’re being prime ministerial.

“And the problem for Rishi Sunak this morning is he’s accused of not getting what it is to be a prime minister and what his duties are as a prime minister.”

Oliver also criticised the Tory campaign for sending children’s minister David Johnston into broadcast studios on Friday morning without knowing “what to say” about the snub.

“It was pretty clear that the Conservative campaign was going to be massively on the backfoot today.”

Johnston’s interviews took place before Sunak issued his apology and included him telling Times Radio: “As children’s minister I don’t exactly know what the prime minister’s diary looks like. But I do know, because we saw him at the various commemorations this week that he has been paying tribute to our veterans and marking the D-day commemorations and I think everybody can see he’s very committed to that.”

As to the issue about scheduling, the ITV UK editor, Paul Brand, told ITV News at Ten last night: “Today was the slot we were offered [by No 10] … we don’t know why.”

Updated

The shadow paymaster general, Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth, has also attacked Sunak’s decision to leave the ceremony early. He said: “Yesterday’s D-Day commemorations were about remembering the bravery of all those who serve our country.

“In choosing to prioritise his own vanity TV appearances over our veterans, Rishi Sunak has shown what is most important to him.

“It is yet more desperation, yet more chaos, and yet more dreadful judgment from this out-of-touch prime minister.”

My colleague Jessica Elgot says today “feels like a very big moment in the campaign here, pointing out that Rishi Sunak’s apology makes it clear this was “not a gaffe but a deliberate choice”.

It was left to Conservative minister for children David Johnston to try to defend Rishi Sunak on the morning media round.

He had been hoping to talk about Tory proposals for child benefit, but instead, ahead of Sunak’s apology, he was pressed on the Today programme on where the prime minister had been when world leaders – plus David Cameron – were on Omaha beach.

He told the BBC’s Nick Robinson “Well, he was there earlier in the day for the commemoration. He was also in Portsmouth on Wednesday for the commemorations there.”

Robinson asked “Where was he when Cameron was standing alongside the president of America and the presidents of France. Where was the prime minister?”

Johnston floundered “Well, you’ll forgive me, Nick, as you rightly introduced me, I am a junior minister in the department of education, so I’m afraid I don’t know exactly where the prime minister was.”

Robinson shot back “He was in an ITV studio doing an interview defending what he’d said in the election debate. We all now know that, don’t we?”

Johnston reiterated his top line, telling listeners “as I say, I don’t know precisely where he was. I know he was there earlier that day. I know he was in Portsmouth on Wednesday.”

Robinson then asked the minister “don’t you think it’s inappropriate for him to leave the day early?” to which Johnston began talking about how he himself had attended a ceremony of commemoration in the constituency where he is standing.

Robinson cut him short with a curt “Thank you very much. You’ve told us what you do and don’t know, and thanks for coming on the programme.”

Labour: 'embarrassing' Sunak left D-day ceremony early to 'double down on a proven lie'

Labour’s housing spokesman Matthew Pennycook said it was “embarrassing” that the prime minister had left Normandy early to make an electioneering appearance in which he chose to “double down on a proven lie”.

Speaking on Sky News, Pennycook said:

I’m glad he’s apologised because it is absolutely a mistake. And it’s not just the fact that the prime minister left those D-day commemoration services – perhaps the last commemoration services for many of the veterans who attended, I mean, bear that in mind.

But the reason why he left those services? He left, let’s be clear, to come back and pre-record an interview where he doubles down on a proven lie about the Labour party’s intentions if it forms the next government.

I think it’s embarrassing.

I think it’s a shameful dereliction of duty.

He’s right to apologise, but the British public should ask themselves serious questions about a man who decides to make that decision in the first place.

The prime minister attended an event at Ver-sur-Mer in northern France, which was also attended by King Charles and Queen Camilla, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron. But he did not attend the late afternoon ceremony at Omaha beach, in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, and instead returned to the UK. Paul Brand, ITV’s UK editor, said the prime minister returned from Normandy to do the interview.

Asked on Sky News why he thought the prime minister had done that, Labour’s Pennycook said:

You’d have to ask him. I have absolutely no idea, on such an important service. why the prime minister felt that it was appropriate to leave partway through that service.

And I’m glad Keir Starmer, Labour leader, stayed at that service. It was an important chance not only to meet veterans but to meet international leaders like president Macron, [and Ukraine’s] president Zelenskiy.

Updated

Sunak issues apology over D-day ceremony absence

Rishi Sunak has issued an apology on social media for not staying longer at D-day events in France yesterday.

The prime minister, having left Normandy in order to instead pre-record an election interview with ITV, said “for the commemorations to be overshadowed by politics”.

He posted:

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.

This anniversary should be about those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. The last thing I want is for the commemorations to be overshadowed by politics.

I care deeply about veterans and have been honoured to represent the UK 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 UK. On reflection, it was a mistake not to stay in France longer – and I apologise.

Welcome and opening summary …

Good morning. Welcome to our live coverage of the 2024 general election on a Friday which will see the third live TV debate of the week. After Scottish leaders debated on STV on Monday, and ITV hosted Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer and those tax claims on Tuesday, Friday night is the BBC’s turn to host a seven-way debate. More on that in a minute. Here are your headlines …

Senior Conservatives have been fond of the phrase “as sure as night follows day” on the campaign trail in regard to Labour governments putting taxes up. On this blog you’ve got night following day in the shape of Andrew Sparrow being here later on to cover the debate, but Martin Belam here to start. Do drop me a line on martin.belam@theguardian.com if you need to get in touch – I find it especially useful if you are pointing out my typos or errors or suggesting omissions.

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