I like ITV's Paul Brand. If I saw him on the street, I'd stop to say 'hello'. But if I were prime minister in the middle of a general election campaign not going terribly well, with a growing populist threat to my right and attending the 80th anniversary of D-Day alongside world leaders and centenarian veterans – I would not leave early to do a tetchy pre-record interview with him.
This morning, Rishi Sunak apologised for his own mini Dunkirk, telling Sky News' Sam Coates that the itinerary for the events had been set before the general election was called. Hang on, is the prime minister saying that he always planned to leave Normandy early, with or without a campaign to fight? What kind of explanation is that?
