Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for East Wiltshire, Rob Newman, has demanded an apology from the Conservative candidate Danny Kruger for Rishi Sunak’s snub of D-Day veterans at the commemorations in Normandy.
Rob Newman said: “Rishi Sunak’s snub to D-Day veterans has come up again and again on the doorstep over the past few days. I remain absolutely floored by his decision to leave the commemorations early, and judging by the real anger among residents, I don’t think I’m the only one.
“People are outraged because of the disrespect shown to those men’s service. Politics, too, should be about service, but the Conservatives forgot that long ago.
“It’s not enough for Danny Kruger to be ‘annoyed’ or ‘frustrated’ about this. He needs to apologise for his leader’s conduct – and for the state of national defence under the Tories.”
The full text of the open letter written by Rob Newman to Danny Kruger appears below.
10 June 2024
Dear Danny,
I’m writing to you following the appalling lapse of judgment by your party leader, Rishi Sunak, at the D-Day commemorations in Normandy.
It’s clear from the conversations that I’ve been having with people across East Wiltshire that there is very real anger about the Prime Minister’s behaviour. His early departure from France – so that he could come back to the UK and do an ITV interview – was an insult to members of our Armed Forces past and present, to Forces families, and to our communities.
Most of all, it was an insult to those who stormed the beaches at Normandy in defence of freedom. Thousands of those men made the ultimate sacrifice. Rishi Sunak couldn’t even sacrifice one afternoon.
I noted your Facebook video where you said you were “bothered” by Rishi Sunak’s actions, and that they were “frustrating” and “annoying”. This is not good enough. In the TV debate last week, the Leader of the House, Penny Mordaunt, repeatedly said that the Prime Minister was “completely wrong”. Do you agree with her? If so, will you now acknowledge that residents in East Wiltshire are not frustrated or annoyed about this, but furious, and apologise to them on Rishi Sunak’s behalf?
In your video, you also tried to shrug off this snub, and instead tell us “what really matters” when it comes to the Government’s actions over the past several years. You claim that the Conservatives have stood by our Forces.
Can you therefore explain why the Army is at the smallest it’s been since Napoleonic times? Can you explain the missed recruitment targets, and the plummeting morale? Can you account for the disgraceful state of much of our military accommodation, or the millions wasted on bungled procurement of equipment?
The truth is that it’s Labour which has committed to standing up for our Forces community – with a new Armed Forces Commissioner, action to bring accommodation up to decent standards, and raising defence spending to 2.5% as soon as we can. There is now only one party of defence and national security – and it is Labour.
Yours sincerely,
ROB NEWMAN
Labour Parliamentary Candidate for East Wiltshire
