SUNAK SORRY
I hope people can find it in their hearts to forgive me, Rishi says over D-Day gaffe as he insists Farage is bad for UK
Mr Sunak went on the attack after Farage had accused him of not caring about "our culture"
RISHI Sunak has begged voters to “find it in their hearts to forgive me” over his D-Day disaster.
The Prime Minister pleaded with the country to move on from his Normandy blunder last week, asking them to judge him by his long term action for veterans.
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In an emotional plea while campaigning in true blue West Sussex, he said: "I just hope people can find it in their hearts to forgive me.
"Look at my actions that I've taken as Prime Minister both to support our armed forces with an increase in defence spending but also have a minister focus on Veterans Affairs around the Cabinet table, making sure there's the best country in the world to be a veteran."
The PM said “of course not” when asked if he considered quitting ahead of the election amid the D-Day fallout.
Mr Sunak insisted he is “energised” and finding “enormous amount of support” for the policies he has put forward.
And he turned up the heat on Nigel Farage saying his patriotism row comments were not good "for our country".
Mr Sunak went on the attack after Mr Farage had accused him of not caring about "our culture".
He said: "I can't speak for him and what he meant by those comments.
"I'm not going to get involved in that because I don't think it's good for our politics, or indeed, our country."
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Meanwhile, Mr Sunak has vowed to keep "fighting" for every vote - as he attempts to reset his campaign.
The PM was back on the election trail 24 hours ahead of launching the party's manifesto.
Major announcements on pledges for 8,000 new police officers and ending the Sicknote benefits culture have been overshadowed by the DDay blunder.
Rishi Sunak's speech on welfare reform
Speaking in West Sussex, he said: "People are gonna say what they're gonna say, well I'm doing is fighting very hard for every moment.
"I will keep doing that until the last day of this campaign.
"And I am very confident in the actions that we're putting forward the British people are confident they will deliver more security to people.
He added: "And that there's lots of people who want to write me off write this on, say this campaign or the election is a foregone conclusion."
The PM also reacted to ex-Home Secretary calling for the Tories to unite the right and embrace Mr Farage.
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But he said a vote for reform was a vote to make Sir Keir Starmer Prime Minister on July 5.
He said: "You're handing Starmer a blank cheque when he's not prepared to say what he would do with it."
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ANALYSIS: 'A SPECTACULAR OWN GOAL'
By RYAN SABEY, Deputy Political Editor
This was a spectacular own goal by Rishi Sunak - and he will rueing the moment he boarded the plane in France back to Britain.
As major missteps go this was up there with Theresa May being seen as slow to react to the Grenfell Tower disaster shortly after the 2017 election.
But for Mr Sunak just when he had Labour on the defensive over tax and a decent TV debate outing he has undone all the good work.
The Tories needed a game-changer to give them a fighting chance in this election campaign - but it's them who've committed this horrendous misstep.
Just when he has Nigel Farage's Reform party on his shoulder chasing the patriotic vote this major misstep could see more disgruntled Tories splintering off.
This campaign was difficult enough for the Tories. It was always going to be a damage limitation exercise being 20-points behind in the polls.
But this reckless decision leaves the campaign in tatters.
The Tories appeared to be playing to their core vote in this election - and this could see them either stay at home or vote elsewhere.
Sir Keir Starmer has been adamant that his priority is "country first, party second" as he campaigns up and down the country.
For Rishi Sunak many people who may have been tempted to back him will see this D-Day fiasco as "party first, country second".
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