Macron ‘came up with idea’ for damaging D-Day photo without Sunak after PM’s snub

Emmanuel Macron may have inadvertently had a huge hand in damaging Rishi Sunak's election campaign as it was his idea to have a D-Day photo without the British Prime Minister.

Mr Sunak has apologised for leaving the D-Day commemoration event early, missing the event involving world leaders such as US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky among others.

Foreign Secretary, Lord David Cameron, was instead left behind to represent the UK at the event.

This also led to a spontaneous photograph being taken with Lord Cameron, President Macron, President Biden, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Speaking to the BBC, Lord Cameron said the photo was Mr Macron's idea.

READ MORE: David Cameron ducks claim he was ‘apoplectic’ about Rishi Sunak’s D-Day snub

He explained: "Mr Macron said he wanted to have a word with me. We had an exchange and then he said 'Let's have a photo of the quad' – which is Britain, France, America and Germany.

"And so there we were, having a photograph. It wasn’t an event or a meeting or anything as substantial as that."

Mr Sunak said he had not "meant to cause anyone any hurt or upset" by leaving the commemoration early.

He added: "I just hope people can find it in their hearts to forgive me and look at the actions that I've taken as Prime Minister, both to support our armed forces with an increase in defence spending, but also have the minister focused on veterans affairs around the cabinet table, making sure this is best country in the world to be a veteran."

Lord Cameron said Mr Sunak did the right thing by apologising.

The BBC also quizzed the Foreign Secretary on a report from the Sunday Times that claimed Lord Cameron was "apoplectic" when Mr Sunak decided to leave early.

Asked about the report, Lord Cameron said: “I'm not going to get into my advice, or my department's advice, to the prime minister.

"I’m part of a team and I support my team leader.

"The thing you have to remember, in politics, it's a team game, and I support my leader, and I support him as our prime minister. He's fighting an energetic campaign, and I'm right behind him.

"He said, quite rightly, that he regretted not staying and thought that he had made a mistake and was very frank and honest about it to be fair to him."

Mr Sunak launched the Conservative Party's manifesto at Silverstone this week, but it appears to have done little to dent Labour's commanding lead in the polls.

As of Thursday, Sir Keir Starmer's party is way ahead on 44 percent of the vote while the Tories are languishing with just 22 percent, as per Bloomberg's poll.

Mr Sunak's woes are compounded by the growing momentum behind Nigel Farage's Reform Party.

A YouGov poll has Reform just one point behind the Tories.