‘He lets the country down’: Sunak provokes Tory

Officials say internal party WhatsApp groups full of horrified responses after PM apologises for misjudgment

Rishi Sunak has provoked fury from the Conservative grassroots after he was forced to apologise for skipping a key part of the D-day commemorations, the biggest misstep yet of an already faltering election campaign.

Tory officials said internal party WhatsApp groups were full of horrified responses, with some local chairs predicting the decision to go back to the UK to film a TV interview could cost the party seats on 4 July.

One senior grassroots member described the move as “extraordinary” and “gobsmacking”, with another saying: “No one is even trying to defend this. The belief was already very low in the election operation, and this does not help.”