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67
Rishi Sunak says sorry for leaving D-day events early to record TV interview (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
41 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Rishi 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”.

The prime minister had been heavily criticised for allowing the foreign secretary, David Cameron, to take his place in the late afternoon ceremony at Omaha beach on Thursday, while he left Normandy to do a prerecorded ITV segment to be broadcast next week.

On Friday, the prime minister said on X: “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.”

Conservative activists reacted with fury at the sight of Cameron standing alongside the French, German and US leaders, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Joe Biden, with one saying it had left them questioning whether to “bother to continue campaigning”.

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

And now he's complaining about Labour 'politicising' this. He's a politican, everything he does is politicised!

EDIT:

The full quote is just incredible and is some evidence that Sunak might in fact be the stupidest man in the world:

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.

So why the fuck did you run off and record a political interview in which your refused to apologise for the lie you told about politics for political reasons?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (2 children)

He's an absolute imbecile. It's not even going to go out for like a week, he could have picked any other day to record it on and it would have been fine.

Now in a week's time ITV are going to show it and it's just going to bring it all back up again.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Yeah, everyone will run it as 'The interview Sunak gave instead of honouring D-Day'.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I’m sure Sunak is a very intelligent person. You simply don’t get to be a PM by being an imbecile in the low IQ sense of the term. There is abundant evidence that he is a totally useless politician and an incompetent leader. His moral compass, I’m not even going to comment.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I’m sure Sunak is a very intelligent person.

I'm sure he was considered to be borderline convenient. I tend to feel that the conspiracies with these sorts of groups isn't so much a plan for world domination, as it is for basic survival.

He was the best of a worst bunch. There's nothing more complicated in it than that.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

You simply don’t get to be a PM by being an imbecile in the low IQ sense of the term

He lost to someone who failed to outlast a lettuce. Sorry nope under the current tory party. The ability to talk crap is pretty much all they expect.

We can only hope your statement applies when a person is required to win an election. But sunak was appointed purely to avoid yet another tory infight over leadership.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 5 months ago

Serious unforced error - what were they thinking? Especially as the parties had agreed to suspend campaigning.

with one saying it had left them questioning whether to “bother to continue campaigning”.

I'd hate to be the one to break it to them...

[–] [email protected] 20 points 5 months ago

What an absolute muppet.

Even the BBC's Chris Mason is having a pop at him for this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4nnz0w41kvo

Yes, that’s right - the prime minister left D-Day events early in order not to apologise for misleading claims about his opponents, only to apologise for leaving early in the first place.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago

Not sure if memes are allowed here, apologies if not...

[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Rishi may have the brains to run a company (maybe) but his public interaction of any kind is atrocious. I listened to the full five-minute apology, and it sounded utterly false. Every time he speaks, not just this apology, you can tell it has been scripted, especially when he's asked a question, and he replies with the identical repetition of something he's already said.

The amount of times he said the same sentence about the fact the itinerary was already set weeks ago. So you were always planning to leave early? I hope some evidence turns up to prove that he allegedly wasn't going to go to France at all. This is what the French government were told a few weeks ago, apparently.

Finally, don't make this political!? Too fucking late mate.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

If he was any good as a CEO he'd have a senior role at his in laws company that has a market cap of $75bn as he'd be able to generate billions for them of extra revenue. The fact that he doesn't speaks volumes about his ability.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago (1 children)

"We've left Normandy by mistake!"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

I dunno why but this is my all-time favourite meme template. I also enjoyed "we've called an election by mistake!"

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

Yeah you really shouldn't bother continuing to campaign because he is literally the worst possible prime minister you could have picked.

But he was picked and that's a conservative problem. That frankly the conservatives deserve.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I can think of several worse picks, but yes he's A bad pick

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

He lost to Liz Truss.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I’d say that in itself is more of an achievement than anything else he’s managed as the PM.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Did he achieve literally anything as PM? I know he was going on about that smoking law but did that actually go through.

I know he legislated that an unsafe country is safe, but given that that's going to get undone the instant Labour in office I don't count it. Also it ended up having absolutely zero effect anyway as the only person deported to Rwanda was someone who went voluntarily.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

What I mean though is he was hand-picked by the Tories, it wasn't as though there was an election where he ended up on top because all the other candidates were not chosen, like Theresa May. He didn't win by default or anything, they chose him.

They actually presumably thought about it and decided he was the best option. If that's what the party thinks is the best option, I think it's doomed as a political entity. I would not waste my time having anything to do with it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

We can only hope it's doomed

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

The party elected Truss. They showed themselves unable to pick a decent leader. So the party machinery stepped in and did a bit better. It shows the state of the party.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

'Own goal' doesn't even begin to describe it.

It's like he got so pissed off with his own party trying to stab him in the back that he's now doing the political equivalent of running it down.

Now I really hope the Liberals or Reform UK become the opposition party.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Apparently his itinerary was set "weeks ago". So he arranged to be recording a TV interview before the election had even been announced..?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Part to me would think that it was all part of some conspiracy where he knew the election was going to happen already. But that requires a level of competence that frankly he's not demonstrated.

I actually genuinely believe that was the date they chose for the interview and it was just going to be some interview and it's changed into a political appeal one. And no one in his team can add up dates in their head, so it never occurred to anyone that that was a stupid date to pick.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I'm inclined to agree. There's no conspiracy, just incompetence. I think also it simply never occurred to Sunak what the optics would be. He only thought in terms of "this event is just me hanging around talking to people, I've got much more important stuff to do", and he just doesn't understand that talking to people and trying to be a human being is part of the job of prime minister.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Wast majority of cases are perfectly explained by the fuck-up theory, and it’s hard for me to see how this is any different. That doesn’t make things any better, though. I would absolutely expect the PM and the team around the PM being much, much better. This is a devastating verdict on Sunak’s leadership, as if yet another one was needed.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

Besides which, D-Day commemorations would have been planned much further back than that, including the attendance of the British PM. That would have been in the diary of No.10 long before Sunak himself took office, with just very fine details to tweak nearer the day.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

Hopefully this loses him the grey vote. Third place please. Doesn't even deserve to be in opposition.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

Rish! Do us all a favour and just jack in in now. At this point, you're just a waste of space.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I thought the picture of Biden, Schroeder, Macron and … the chap from Chipping Norton spoke volumes.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

"Zo then, vich of us hasn't shagged ein svine?"

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

schwein

LOL I don't know why I am correcting your German and only correcting one word 😅

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The prime minister had been heavily criticised for allowing the foreign secretary, David Cameron, to take his place in the late afternoon ceremony at Omaha beach on Thursday, while he left Normandy to do a prerecorded ITV segment to be broadcast next week.

On Friday, the prime minister said on X: “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.

Conservative activists reacted with fury at the sight of Cameron standing alongside the French, German and US leaders, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Joe Biden, with one saying it had left them questioning whether to “bother to continue campaigning”.

It was part of a series of pre-recorded ITV interviews with political party leaders that will be broadcast throughout the election campaign – meaning the prime minister 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 coverage ahead of Friday night’s televised debate between party representatives.

A Conservative source played down the diplomatic impact of the prime minister’s absence from the event, as they said Sunak would see Macron, Biden, Scholz and other key leaders at the G7 summit in Puglia, Italy, which starts next Thursday.

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