Rishi Sunak is skipping a major ceremony with world leaders to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
The Prime Minister is attending commemorations in Normandy today, including the major Franco-British event at Ver-sur-Mer in Normandy, attended by King Charles and Queen Camilla, and French President Emmanuel Macron.
But he will not be present at the Omaha beach ceremony, in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, this afternoon. Keir Starmer will mingle with world leaders, including France's Emmanuel Macron and US President Joe Biden, at the high-profile event, while Mr Sunak is sending Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and Foreign Secretary David Cameron in his place.
The under-pressure Tory leader will instead head back to the UK where the General Election campaign is in full swing. He is expected to return to the campaign trail on Friday. A Tory source played down the impact of the PM's absence, saying he will see Mr Macron, Mr Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other top leaders at the G7 summit in Italy next week.
Keir Starmer during the British event in Normandy, alongside military chiefs and French President Emmanuel Macron (PA)Speaking at the British Normandy Memorial ceremony, Mr Sunak told D-Day veterans "we owe you everything". He said: "Each of you who contributed that day, sailor, soldier, aviator, civilian, whether you fought on the beaches, or parachuted from the skies, or flew fighters or gliders, whether you were an engineer or a radio operator or an intelligence officer, your actions freed a continent and built a better world.
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"You risked everything and we owe you everything. We cannot possibly hope to repay that debt but we can and we must pledge never to forget. The Prime Minister, who met veterans alongside his wife Akshata Murthy, said they had "taught generations of young people about the horrors of war", adding: "Yet with each passing year, it falls now to those of us who listened in awe to your stories to pass them on to our own children and grandchildren.
"Because only by remembering can we make certain that the cause you fought for, that so many of your friends and colleagues died for, that great cause of freedom, peace and democracy, will never be taken for granted."
Ahead of the service, Mr Starmer said: "It is a privilege to stand with surviving D-Day veterans in Normandy today as we mark this historic anniversary. We will commemorate their courage, we will honour their fallen comrades and we will ensure that their story is never forgotten. Our debt to them can never repaid in full. But we can, and must, honour their sacrifice."
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