Sir Keir Starmer told of how he felt “extremely humbled” as he contemplated how teenage soldiers ran under gunfire during the D-Day landers, as he told journalists how his son was turning 16 this month.
The Labour Leader said Rishi Sunak “clearly” had questions to answer on why he left celebrations early, adding, “he doesn’t seem to want to answer them”.
Appearing at a campaign event in Grays, Essex, he dodged a question on whether he thought Mr Sunak was patriotic, but went on to describe his own experience of visiting the beach where soldiers landed.
He said: “Look, I don’t think that’s for me. I know what I stand for. I know why I was there on Thursday, to pay my respects and say thank-you and I was humbled.”
Describing visiting the beach, Sir Keir said: “I contemplated what it must have been like to be running up that beach under gunfire.
“It was very quiet and still on Thursday, it was a beautiful day, but to do that when there’s noise, there’s smoke, there’s shouting and screaming, there’s blood – and some of your colleagues are falling as you run.
“And that was 17, 18, 19-year-olds doing that. My boy’s 16 this month and I have to say I felt extremely humbled just in that moment.”
