GB News host Andrew Pierce was left furious by a claim made about Rishi Sunak’s original D-Day plan by Daily Mirror associate editor Kevin Maguire.
According to Maguire, Sunak was not planning to attend any part of the D-Day commemorations held last week and his Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps, was set to take his place.
Pierce refuted the claim, branding it “fake news” as the pair locked horns on GB News.
“We now know that Sunak was planning not to go at all and Grant Shapps was going to stand in for him”, he said.
Kevin Maguire and Andrew Pierce clashed over Rishi Sunak's D-Day attendancwe
GB NEWS
“That’s ridiculous”, Andrew snapped back. “I think the Daily Mirror is slipping into faith”, ex-minister David Davis added.
Andrew continued: “The idea that the British prime minister is not going to be there on June 6 is for the birds.
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“He was always going to be there on June 6. That’s ridiculous, even by your standards.”
Maguire continued by reaffirming his claim that Shapps was “lined up”. Pierce continued to slap down the suggestion, simply commenting: “Not true.”
Rishi Sunak’s D-Day debacle, where he left the commemorations early for an ITV interview, has been used as a stick to beat him with by critics over the past week as the General Election campaign continues to ramp up.
New footage has put the prime minister under fresh pressure after he was seen saying events “ran over”.
The matter was discussed on GB News
GB NEWS
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been criticised for leaving the D-Day event early
GB NEWS | PAFootage of him arriving at the ITV interview showed him apologising for keeping journalist Paul Brand waiting, saying that the commemorations he did attend “just ran over”.
The timing of the interview on June 6 was suggested by the Conservative Party because Sunak had already planned to leave Normandy before the major event attended by world leaders including Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron.
Footage released by ITV showed him walking into the interview saying “it was incredible” but it “all just ran over”.
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney said: “This is proof that Rishi Sunak simply didn’t care enough to stay in Normandy.
“How he brushes this off is frankly insulting.
“Rishi Sunak does not deserve to be Prime Minister.
“Honouring the sacrifice of our veterans should be a privilege, instead Sunak treated it as an inconvenience.”
Sunak has previously insisted he “absolutely didn’t mean to cause anyone any hurt or upset” and “I just hope people can find it in their hearts to forgive me”.