DAILY MAIL COMMENT: After D-Day blunder Sunak must fight on

Of all the British troops who performed acts of exemplary heroism on D-Day, only one won the Victoria Cross.

With near-suicidal courage, Company Sergeant-Major Stan Hollis single-handedly stormed three German machine-gun posts, killing or capturing dozens of enemy soldiers. He also rescued two wounded comrades.

'Wherever the fighting was heaviest, Hollis displayed daring and gallantry,' declared the citation for his VC.

Hollis, who survived, served with the Green Howards, a historic regiment based in Richmond, North Yorkshire. The town still proudly houses the regimental museum.

The Richmond constituency is also home to Catterick Garrison, the UK's largest Army base. Military families and veterans make up a large proportion of the electorate.

As local MP, Rishi Sunak should know this better than anyone. Which is why his early exit from the D-Day commemorations in Normandy was so unfathomably bad.

True, the Prime Minister accompanied the King to a British ceremony in the morning. But his decision to miss the international event on Omaha Beach that world leaders – including President Biden – attended was staggeringly disrespectful and foolish.

When our island story is written, June 6, 1944, will be its greatest chapter. The heroes who took part helped topple Hitler and saved the world from tyranny. This date is meaningful to millions across the country.

So what possessed Mr Sunak to prioritise pre-recording a TV election interview (and with a Left-leaning broadcaster that disdains the Tories)? And why couldn't his advisers see this was so obviously wrong?

His national duty was to stay to pay proper tribute to the fallen and the old soldiers who survived the bullets and shells.

The Tory leader has faced accusations that he is out of touch with ordinary people. This now risks entrenching that feeling.

But spare us, please, the faux-outrage of Sir Keir Starmer. Labour's leader insulted veterans himself when a Remembrance poppy he was wearing last November curiously disappeared before he filmed a video aimed at a Muslim audience.

Mr Sunak has rightly apologised for his woeful lapse of judgement. All he can do now is focus, positively and constructively, on selling the Tories' campaign message.

The D-Day blunder is hopefully a blip. Next week the main parties will unveil their manifestos, to shape the country's future.

While the Tories have outlined some eye-catching ideas, from a pensions tax guarantee to protecting motorists from cash grabs, Labour's policy pitch is likely to be anodyne and uninformative.

Missing will be details of how it funds its redistributive schemes. Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she would not increase income tax or National Insurance.

But tax raids on pension funds, investments and businesses have not been ruled out. The public deserves more than just flannel.

One of the worst consequences of Mr Sunak's gaffe is that it lets Nigel Farage paint him as unpatriotic – and possibly persuade more Tories to vote Reform UK.

Polls may show Reform almost level with the Conservatives, but under our 'first-past- the-post' system, the party can't win more than a tiny number of seats. If that.

All Mr Farage will do is split the anti-Starmer vote and leave Labour with an even bigger majority – and more scope to blight the nation. Until Thursday's mistake, Mr Sunak had enjoyed two good days, rattling Labour over their tax plans.

Now he must dust himself down and, like the heroes of the Longest Day, fight on.