Cut Rishi Sunak some slack – his D-day blunder is hardly

The real problem is how past wars are invoked not only to ramp up today’s defence spending, but to agitate for fresh conflict

Attacks on Rishi Sunak for cutting short his attendance at the D-day commemoration have been overblown. His early return home was a presentational error, but he had attended the relevant British ceremonies and is in the midst of an election campaign. The final day was a giant sound and light show with a photocall mostly for assorted heads of state rather than heads of government. No protocol necessitated Sunak’s presence. King Charles had already attended the appropriate commemoration. This was a clear case of using any brick to hurl at an unpopular politician in an election.

Remembrance days always risk mixed messages. They are traditionally occasions for recalling, thanking and comforting those personally involved. D-day did not mark the end of the second world war, but it was a hugely significant event in its conduct. Nor was this, as is now so often said, the last time we could say thank you. The last first world war veterans survived until 2009. There will be enough to keep D-day, VE Day and the Battle of Britain in vox pops for some years to come.

Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist