Rishi Sunak hides from journalists however Tories deny he is about to give up

Rishi Sunak is facing humiliation after the Conservatives were forced to deny claims he is about to quit as leader.

The PM today dodged reporters as the backlash over his D-Day snub continued. Mr Sunak has avoided answering questions from journalists for at least 48 hours since Friday afternoon.

He campaigned in Bedale in North Yorkshire, close to his constituency, this afternoon, but the media was not invited.

Cabinet minister Mel Stride insisted the beleaguered leader would not throw in the towel before polling day. Asked if Mr Sunak is going to lead the party into the election, the Work and Pensions Secretary said: “Absolutely. And there’s been no question of anything other than that.”

The minister insisted the PM is patriotic despite leaving events in Normandy to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day early. He told Sky News: “I know Rishi pretty well. In fact, I consider him something of a friend. I know that he’s a deeply patriotic person. He cares greatly about this country.” The minister added: “I know he will be feeling this very deeply… Of course he understood the weight of this event.”

Keir Starmer told reporters the PM “will eventually have to come out and answer the questions that you put to him”. Asked if the PM should stop hiding and face voters, the Labour leader said he couldn’t speak on behalf of Mr Sunak but added: “Clearly he’s got questions he needs to answer in relation to what happened on D-Day, and at the moment, he doesn’t seem to want to answer them.”

The Conservatives today faced a fresh D-Day row after a councillor criticised a Labour candidate for taking part in 80th anniversary commemorations.

Bayo Alaba, who served in the Parachute Regiment Reserves, joined a fundraising jump over Normandy. But the Southend East and Rochford candidate was targeted by local Tories. Daniel Nelson, a councillor in the Essex town, asked on X: “Is the Labour candidate still in France?”

Mr Alaba, who has raised over £7,000 for charities including the Royal British Legion, said the jump “was my small homage to our forebear[er]s who gave everything for us on those beaches 80 years ago”. Labour’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner accused the Tories of “smearing” Mr Alaba. “We’re proud of him. Shame on you,” she wrote on X.

Mr Nelson later said sorry for his tweet that has now been deleted. He wrote: “I wholeheartedly apologise to Bayo Alaba. I absolutely support his decision to be in France. As a brother of a serving member of the Armed Forces I understand the sacrifice of our veterans and would never want to disrespect that in any way. I have donated to Bayo’s campaign as the charities he was raising money for are incredibly worthy causes.”