Rishi Sunak accused of being ‘in hiding’ after disastrous D-Day gaffe

Rishi Sunak has been accused of going into hiding after his disastrous decision to snub commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

After a senior minister was forced to deny he is considering quitting before the general election, Labour pointed to the fact the PM has not faced the media in more than 48 hours.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer faced a huddle of political journalists on Sunday as he announced a planned crackdown on antisocial behaviour.

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But Mr Sunak has not taken questions since an awkward Sky News interview in which he was confronted by veterans who said he had let the country down. He also cancelled a scheduled opportunity for reporters to quiz him, with Tory aides blaming time constraints.

A Labour source told The Independent: “The Conservatives’ chaotic campaign is descending further into farce.

“With yet more fantasy economics being floated by the Conservatives this morning, Sunak will surely have to come out of hiding soon and explain how families can afford five more years of this madness.”

Work and pensions secretary Mel Stride was forced on Sunday morning to deny Mr Sunak will quit before 4 July over repeated campaign gaffes.

Mr Stride said the PM will “absolutely” lead the Conservatives into the election.

“There should be no question of anything other than that," he told Sky News in an extraordinary sign of the electoral crisis facing the Conservatives.

In Mr Sunak’s last media appearance, he was asked about Ken Hay a 98-year-old D-Day veteran who was captured as a prisoner of war.

Mr Hay told Sky News: “What can you say? They are politicians… I don’t have a great regard for politicians.

“He lets the country down, you know. It’s not the representation of how we’re trying to weld things together to keep the peace.”

Asked whether Mr Hay was right, the PM said: “I participated in events in Portsmouth and in France over two days because this is an incredibly important moment for our country to commemorate the sacrifice of all of those and their service.

“It was a real honour and a privilege to meet many veterans and speak to them and their families, hear their stories, express my gratitude to them and build on our record of making sure this is the best country in the world for veterans.”

Mr Sunak has apologised and said it was “a mistake” to leave the commemorations early.

The prime minister skipped out on the international ceremony attended by other world leaders, including US president Joe Biden and French president Emmanuel Macron, to mark the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings.

He instead returned to the UK to take part in an ITV interview in which he sought to defend his claims about Labour’s tax plans after criticism from the head of the Treasury and the UK’s statistics watchdog.

The gaffe has caused indignation in Tory circles, with general election candidates claiming the PM is giving Labour a free pass.

Even veterans minister Johnny Mercer said the decision to leave the 80th anniversary events early was a “significant mistake”.

And Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said the blunder shows Mr Sunak is “not fit to lead the country”. “He has made the biggest mistake of his political career. If it wasn’t an election campaign, there’d be a leadership challenge against him this week,” he told the BBC.

Mr Sunak posted a picture on X of himself with business minister Kevin Hollinrake campaigning in Bedale, in his Richmond and Northallerton constituency.