10 hours agoBy Lucy Clarke-Billings, BBC News • Sam Francis, Political Reporter, @DavidSamFrancisConservative cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt has said the prime minister’s decision to leave the D-Day commemorations early was “completely wrong”.In the BBC’s seven-way TV election debate on Friday, Ms Mordaunt said it was right that Rishi Sunak apologised to veterans and to the public.Mr Sunak has faced strong criticism for leaving Thursday’s Normandy landings’ 80th anniversary event in France to return to the UK – asking Foreign Secretary David Cameron to deputise him at the event. Ms Mordaunt, a Navy reservist, notably did not praise Mr Sunak’s record on veterans and defence – unlike many of her colleagues. Speaking on Saturday, Transport Secretary Mark Harper told BBC Breakfast distanced himself from Ms Mordaunt’s comments.Pressed on whether he agreed with Ms Mordaunt that Mr Sunak’s decision was “completely wrong”, Mr Harper responded: “I don’t know what the detail was of putting the PM’s schedule together.”The prime minister made a mistake. He’s apologised for it, and he’s apologised to those who would have been particularly hurt by it.”I would say actually looking at his record since he became prime minister, he actually cares about veterans hugely.”Friday night’s BBC debate kicked off with a question about defence.The opposition parties seized the chance to attack Mr Sunak over his early departure from the D-Day commemoration. Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said Mr Sunak’s decision was “politically shameful”, bringing up her grandfather, who was on the Normandy beaches on D-Day.Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage said Mr Sunak’s “dreadful” decision to leave early showed that “we actually have a very unpatriotic prime minister”. Following what has been widely seen as the biggest blunder of the general election campaign so far, Mr Sunak apologised on X, saying he hoped the “ultimate sacrifice” made by those who put their lives on the line would not be “overshadowed by politics”.He admitted that “on reflection” he should have stayed for the event where world leaders, inclu …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nn10 hours agoBy Lucy Clarke-Billings, BBC News • Sam Francis, Political Reporter, @DavidSamFrancisConservative cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt has said the prime minister’s decision to leave the D-Day commemorations early was “completely wrong”.In the BBC’s seven-way TV election debate on Friday, Ms Mordaunt said it was right that Rishi Sunak apologised to veterans and to the public.Mr Sunak has faced strong criticism for leaving Thursday’s Normandy landings’ 80th anniversary event in France to return to the UK – asking Foreign Secretary David Cameron to deputise him at the event. Ms Mordaunt, a Navy reservist, notably did not praise Mr Sunak’s record on veterans and defence – unlike many of her colleagues. Speaking on Saturday, Transport Secretary Mark Harper told BBC Breakfast distanced himself from Ms Mordaunt’s comments.Pressed on whether he agreed with Ms Mordaunt that Mr Sunak’s decision was “completely wrong”, Mr Harper responded: “I don’t know what the detail was of putting the PM’s schedule together.”The prime minister made a mistake. He’s apologised for it, and he’s apologised to those who would have been particularly hurt by it.”I would say actually looking at his record since he became prime minister, he actually cares about veterans hugely.”Friday night’s BBC debate kicked off with a question about defence.The opposition parties seized the chance to attack Mr Sunak over his early departure from the D-Day commemoration. Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said Mr Sunak’s decision was “politically shameful”, bringing up her grandfather, who was on the Normandy beaches on D-Day.Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage said Mr Sunak’s “dreadful” decision to leave early showed that “we actually have a very unpatriotic prime minister”. Following what has been widely seen as the biggest blunder of the general election campaign so far, Mr Sunak apologised on X, saying he hoped the “ultimate sacrifice” made by those who put their lives on the line would not be “overshadowed by politics”.He admitted that “on reflection” he should have stayed for the event where world leaders, inclu …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
