General Election 2024

That Sky interview transcript:

Rishi Sunak: "... two days I've participated in a number of events in Portsmouth and France to honor those who risked their lives to defend our freedom and our values 80 years ago. 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 apologize. I think it's important though, given the enormity of the sacrifice made, that we don't politicize this. The focus should rightly be on the veterans who gave so much. I had the honor 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. That's what you'll always get from me."

Interviewer: "I have to say, Prime Minister, you sound more exasperated than apologetic. These men made the ultimate sacrifice, and you couldn't even sacrifice a whole afternoon. Ken Hay, a 98-year-old D-Day veteran told us that you let the country down. Is he right?"

Rishi Sunak: "I participated in events both 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, and it was a real honor 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 that this is the best country in the world for veterans."

Interviewer: "But honestly, you didn't care, did you?"

Rishi Sunak: "No, I I cared deeply."

Interviewer: "So why didn't you stay?"

Rishi Sunak: "As I said, the itinerary for these events was set 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, I returned home before the international leaders' event. That was a mistake, and I apologize for that. But I will always be proud of our record in supporting veterans here in the UK. We have a dedicated office for veterans' affairs, the first veterans minister sitting in cabinet, and a range of programs to support them with health, housing, employment needs. That's something that I've worked very personally on because it's personally important to me. And as I said yesterday and the day before, I had the privilege of speaking with many veterans and their families to express my personal gratitude to them for their service to our country and to honor what they and their colleagues have done for us."

Interviewer: "I'm told your team considered canceling your attendance at the entire event yesterday. Your team denies this. I'm told by sources that denial is a flat lie. So can you clarify for viewers, did you or anyone around you ever consider skipping the Normandy commemorations?"

Rishi Sunak: "That's simply not right. The itinerary for these events was set weeks ago before the general election campaign. Of course, I was always scheduled to participate both in Portsmouth and in France. I was proud and privileged to do so, to have the honor of meeting with many veterans and their families to express my personal gratitude for everything that they've done for our country, to honor their service, their sacrifice, and ensure that our young generation learns from their example, hears the stories, to understand what has happened before so that we might live today in freedom. It was a great and humbling privilege for me to spend time with all the families. As I said, after the all the British events and all the British veterans that I spoke to, those events had finished, I returned home to the UK before the international leaders' event later in the day. On reflection, that was a mistake, and I apologize for that. But I'm very happy to admit when I've made a mistake. That's what you'll always get from me."

Interviewer: "One of the Conservative candidates standing in this election for the party that you lead has just told me your actions show a disdain for the armed forces and disdain for them and their colleagues. They say you don't understand patriotism. I'm told some were in tears at the way you're running this campaign. What do you say to them?"

Rishi Sunak: "I think people can judge me by my actions when it comes to supporting the armed forces. In this campaign, it's the Conservative party led by me which is increasing the amount of investment that we're putting into our armed forces to two and a half percent of GDP. That's not something that's been matched by the Labour party. So there is a clear choice about backing our armed forces, and it's also me as Prime Minister that's made sure we have the first ever dedicated veterans minister in cabinet with a dedicated office for veterans' affairs, which we have fully funded to support veterans, whether it's with their mental or physical health, with housing, with employment opportunities. And that's something that I'm personally committed to, and my track record demonstrates that."

Interviewer: "We're in an election campaign. Keir Starmer managed to stay for the whole event. You didn't. What does that say about your judgment, your priorities, and your character?"

Rishi Sunak: "As I said, the itinerary for this set of events was set weeks ago before the election campaign even began. So I don't think it's right to politicize these things. I stuck to the itinerary that had been set for me as Prime Minister weeks ago before the election, fully participated, expressed my gratitude to the veterans-"

Interviewer: "So no shame at all? No shame at all?"

Rishi Sunak: "As I said, on reflection, it was a mistake not to stay longer, and I've apologized for that. But 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."

Interviewer: "The veterans who are saying that you're letting the country down, are they politicizing this?"

Rishi Sunak: "I've apologized for not staying longer. On reflection, that was a mistake. I did have the privilege and the pleasure of meeting many, many veterans and their families over the course of the past two days and expressing to them my personal gratitude for everything that they have done, hearing from their stories, and making sure that right now, we are getting veterans across the country all the support they need, whether it's with housing, health, employment opportunities. That's something I think is very important, something I've championed from the first moment I became Prime Minister, and our track record on that is clear for everyone to see."