Parties make pledges business taxes, stamp duty and national parks

1. Parties are back on the campaign trail, with the Tories pushing a permanent cut to stamp duty, Labour outlining its position on business rates, and the Lib Dems pledging three new national parks
2. Lib Dem leader Ed Davey is in Newbury where he took part in game of tennis, before criticising Rishi Sunak over his decision to leave D-Day events early
3. The SNP leader John Swinney also hit out at the PM's actions, saying they had "completely destroyed" his credibility
4. Sunak has apologised and said leaving the event early was a "mistake"
5. Meanwhile, the PM met volunteers in Bishop Auckland, while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was campaigning at a brewery in north London with Dragons Den star Deborah Meaden
6. Saturday's campaigning follows a seven-way BBC debate where parties locked horns over the economy, armed forces, NHS, immigration and climate policy
7. Labour's Angela Rayner clashed with Penny Mordaunt after the Conservative minister repeated the contested £2,000 tax rise claim about Labour
8. The figure was a focus of early interviews on Saturday, with the Tories standing by the figure and Labour again branding it "misleading"

Sunak grilled about decision to leave D-Day events early

We're about to bring you some lines from the prime minister, who's been speaking to reporters as part of what's called a pool clip. (A pool clip is basically when broadcasters club together, with a journalist from one asking questions that all outlets are then allowed to use.)

Sky News was asking Sunak the questions today - here's what the PM had to say a short while ago.

Asked why he prioritised a TV interview over commemorating people who "gave up everything" for the UK, Sunak says the itinerary "was set weeks ago" and that having participated in the British veterans' events he decided to leave before the international leaders event.

He says that "on reflection" this was wrong and he that he has apologised. The PM adds that he wants to avoid politicising this issue and that the focus should be on veterans.

For context: Sunak left D-Day commemorations in Normandy prematurely on Thursday, and it later transpired he'd taken part in an ITV interview back in the UK. He apologised on X this morning, saying it was a "mistake". Labour and the Lib Dems accused him of a "dereliction of duty".

BBC

We mentioned it briefly in our last post - but here's a bit more on the BBC's first TV debate of the election campaign tonight at 19:30.

House of Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt will be there for the Conservatives, deputy leader Angela Rayner for Labour and deputy leader Daisy Cooper for the the Lib Dems.

They'll be joined by the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, the Green Party's co-leader Carla Denyer and new Reform UK leader Nigel Farage - along with Rhun ap Iorwerth, the leader of Plaid Cymru.

• How to watch: Tonight from 19:30-21:00 BST on BBC One and BBC News in the UK - you'll also be able to listen on local radio across the country. We'll be playing it at the top of this page too
• The format: Anchored by the BBC's Mishal Husain, questions will be taken from the audience and there'll be some sent in by the public too

Meanwhile, on the campaign trail...

Sam Hancock

Live page editor

PA Media

It wouldn't be an election campaign without a hard hat and a hi-vis...

For the last few hours we've been focused on Rishi Sunak apologising for leaving D-Day commemorations in Normandy prematurely on Thursday.

We take you through how and why this row unravelled in an earlier post - catch up on that here.

Elsewhere, parties continue to make their pitch to voters:

• Labour focuses on mortgages: Earlier announced a new policy, to make permanent a scheme which ensures low-deposit mortgages are available for first-time buyers - we're due to see party leader Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner out and about today
• The Conservatives are targeting parents: They've pledged a £1,500 tax cut for parents earning six-figure salaries - if re-elected on 4 July, the party says it'll increase the income threshold at which someone starts to lose their child benefits. We're due to hear from Sunak soon - well bring you any key lines
• SNP leader John Swinney has made a speech in Glasgow, where he addressed the Sunak-D-Day row (we covered that here)
• The Greens are knocking on doors today, while the big names in both the Lib Dems and Reform UK are taking a break from the campaign trail

This evening, seven parties are taking part in a BBC TV debate - including the Conservatives, Labour, SNP, Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru, Reform UK and the Green Party.

Sunak will have to answer for his own actions, Starmer says

PA Media

We've just heard from Labour leader Keir Starmer, who says Rishi Sunak "will have to answer for his own actions" after leaving D-Day commemoration events in Normandy prematurely yesterday.

"For me, there was nowhere else I was going to be," Starmer told reporters on a campaign visit.

An extraordinary own goal

Chris Mason

Political editor

What an extraordinary own goal.

For days, the leaders' teams for the Conservatives and Labour had been telling me things would be different on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

Politics would take a backseat, the focus would be on the D-Day commemorations.

It did, and it was. Until that is, it wasn’t.

Rishi Sunak’s decision to leave the most photographed, remarked upon and most poignant event in Europe early was always likely to be spotted.

Sunak was hurtling back to the UK to get stuck back into campaigning - recording a lengthy interview with ITV.

We know that because ITV released an extract of it last night, in which the prime minister insisted he hadn’t lied about Labour’s tax plans.

Yes, that’s right - the prime minister left D-Day events early in order not to apologise for misleading claims about his opponents, only to apologise for leaving early in the first place.

• Read more from Chris here

Scottish FM calls Sunak's D-Day exit 'disrespectful' to veterans

Lorna Gordon

Scotland correspondent

BBC

Cross-party reaction to Rishi Sunak leaving D-Day commemorations prematurely is continuing to come in - with Scottish First Minister John Swinney (who was also in Normandy) speaking to reporters on the issue here in Glasgow.

Swinney says Sunak made "a truly, breathtakingly terrible decision" to leave the D-Day commemorations early.

It was not only "disrespectful" to veterans, he says, adding that Sunak "should have been there to represent the international interests of the United Kingdom" at a major gathering of world leaders.

Sunak's D-Day apology - a recap of how we got here

EPA

If you're just joining us, or need a recap, Rishi Sunak's facing criticism after prematurely leaving D-Day commemorations in France.

It's connected to an ongoing row between his party, the Conservatives, and Labour about claims Sunak made about Labour's tax plans earlier this week.

Here's a rundown of how we got here:

• Tuesday: Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer go head-to-head in a TV debate - Sunak claims taxes will rise by £2,000 under Labour and that the figure has been costed by "independent Treasury officials"
• Wednesday: A top Treasury civil servant objects to the presentation of that figure, saying the Tory estimate "includes costs beyond those provided by the civil service". Starmer accuses Sunak of lying during the debate. BBC Verify says the figure risks misleading people - more here
• Thursday afternoon: The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) says Sunak's claim is misleading, as anyone who heard him wouldn't know the £2,000 figure was an estimate for a four-year period
• Thursday evening: Reports circulate that Sunak has flown back from France early and it later transpires he's taken part in a pre-recorded interview with ITV to air next week. ITV publishes a preview, showing Sunak denying he lied about the tax claims
• A few hours ago: Sunak apologises for leaving D-Day early, saying "it was a mistake not to stay in France longer"

Is Sunak 'not getting what it is to be prime minister'?

EPA

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden at a ceremony on Omaha Beach, which Rishi Sunak missed

Another guest to bring you from this morning's programmes now - Sir Craig Oliver, a former Downing Street director of communication, who also spoke to the Today programme about the row over Prime Minister Rishi Sunak leaving D-Day commemoration events early.

Oliver says the events were known about when Sunak called the election on 22 May, and it's "a very important moment for the country - but it's also a very important moment to show that you're being prime ministerial".

"And the problem for Rishi Sunak this morning is he's accused of not getting what it is to be a prime minister and what his duties are as a prime minister."

He also criticises the Tory campaign for sending a junior minister - David Johnston, in our last post - to do the government's media round, saying it's clear "the Conservative campaign was going to be massively on the backfoot today".

For context: Sunak left Normandy early and took part in an ITV interview back in the UK last night, while world leaders still there attended a ceremony on Omaha Beach (pictured above). Apologising this morning, he said that "on reflection, it was a mistake not to stay in France longer - and I apologise".

Junior minister grilled on PM leaving D-Day events early

Reuters

Sunak was in Ver-Sur-Mer, Normandy, yesterday - before leaving early to take part in a TV interview back in the UK

There's some reaction from the Conservatives now - with junior minister David Johnston being asked to respond to Rishi Suank's decision to leave Normandy prematurely.

Asked where the prime minister was while Foreign Secretary David Cameron "was standing next to the presidents of America and France" at a D-Day memorial, Johnston tells Radio 4's Today programme that he doesn't know.

Pressed by the BBC's Nick Robinson whether he thinks it was "inappropriate" for Sunak to leave early, Johnston repeats that doesn't know where Sunak was and that he doesn't have access to the prime minister's diary.

As a reminder, Sunak gave an interview to ITV after returning from France, defending a claim he had made in an earlier TV debate that a Labour government would raise taxes by £2,000.

Sunak will hope his admission of a mistake allows this to blow over

Hannah Miller

Political correspondent

It's pretty unusual for a prime minister to have to apologise about his whereabouts at any time - it's extraordinary to have to do so during an election campaign, when every appearance is normally planned and calculated and strategized.

Rishi Sunak will hope his admission of a mistake enables the row to blow over, but his detractors will use it to bring his judgement into question.

ITV says the timing of the the interview he took part in was the Conservative Party’s suggestion - meaning this is a story that could have been foreseen and avoided.

The prime minister says the last thing he wanted was for the D-Day commemorations to be overshadowed by politics. The fact he chose to leave early and do a political interview has led to exactly that.

'Dreadful judgement' - senior politicians react to Sunak's D-Day apology

Some reaction to bring you now from a number of the other parties, following Rishi Sunak's apology for leaving D-Day events early:

• Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey echoes Labour's condemnation last night, branding the prime minister's decision to leave early “a dereliction of duty”. He says: “One of the greatest privileges of the office of prime minister is to be there to honour those who served, yet Rishi Sunak abandoned them on the beaches of Normandy"
• Reform UK leader Nigel Farage accuses Sunak of similar, saying he "could not even be bothered to attend the international event on Omaha Beach"
• And after calling out the prime minister last night, Labour's shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth has responded to Sunak's apology this morning - saying the PM chose to "prioritise his own vanity TV appearances over our veterans". He adds: "It is yet more desperation, yet more chaos, and yet more dreadful judgement from this out of touch prime minister"

Sunak's apology in full after D-Day exit backlash

Following that bit of breaking news, here's some background on why Rishi Sunak has issued this apology.

The prime minister was in Normandy, France yesterday, alongside a number of world and political leaders, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Reports circulated yesterday that he'd left early and it later transpired he'd taken part in an ITV interview (to be aired next week) about the election.

Labour last night accused Sunak of a "dereliction of duty" and the PM's now posted on social media - here's what he said in full:

The 80th anniversary of D-Day has been a profound moment to honour the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our values, our freedom and our democracy.

This anniversary should be about those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. The last thing I want is for the commemorations to be overshadowed by politics.

I care deeply about veterans and have been honoured to represent the UK at a number of events in Portsmouth and France over the past two days and to meet those who fought so bravely.

After the conclusion of the British event in Normandy, I returned back to the UK. On reflection, it was a mistake not to stay in France longer - and I apologise."

Breaking'A mistake not to stay longer' - Sunak apologises for leaving D-Day events early

The prime minister has just posted on X, saying it was "a mistake not to stay in France longer - and I apologise".

He was in Normandy on Thursday, alongside other political leaders, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

We'll bring you more on this shortly.

Sunak denies being a liar and brands Labour accusations 'desperate'

Sunak denies being a liar over Labour tax plans

Here's a bit more now from that ITV interview with Rishi Sunak that we mentioned in our last post.

Asked on the broadcaster's Tonight programme whether he would lie "in order to stay in power", the prime minister answered: "No."

Put to him that Keir Starmer and the Labour Party had accused him of lying, over his claim that Labour would raise taxes by £2,000, Sunak said he thought that was "all very desperate stuff".

"The Labour Party and Keir Starmer are obviously very rattled we have exposed their plans to raise tax on people and that is what it demonstrates."

Pushed on whether his tax claims were "dubious", Sunak added: "I think people know I'm across the detail when it comes to numbers. The chancellor gave a press conference on this very topic almost a month ago where he laid out all the workings."

For context: The statistics watchdog has criticised Sunak's presentation of the £2,000 figure, saying people would not know it was a sum totalled over four years. BBC Verify has also analysed the Conservative's claims and concluded they risked misleading people.

PM defends £2,000 tax claim - despite watchdog's criticism

A story that's been rumbling on for days is a row between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer about claims the prime minister made during the pair's first live TV debate earlier this week.

Sunak said that, if elected, Labour would hike taxes up by £2,000 per working household - and he also claimed that the figure had been costed by "independent Treasury officials".

The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) subsequently said that anyone who heard Sunak say Labour's plan would mean £2,000 of tax rises would have no way of knowing that was a sum totalled over four years. "We warned against this practice a few days ago, following its use in presenting prospective future increases in defence spending," the statistics watchdog said.

It was also revealed that the top Treasury civil servant had objected to the Conservatives presenting their accusation as if it had been produced by impartial civil servants.

Starmer said the claim was "garbage" and went on to accuse Sunak of having lied during the debate.

The Conservatives have insisted ever since that the prime minister was not lying, but we've now heard from Sunak himself for the first time. In an interview for ITV's Tonight programme, he replied "no" when asked by presenter Paul Brand if he was "willing to lie in order to stay in power". Sunak added that Labour were "rattled that we've exposed their plans to raise tax".

Another day, another policy pledge (or two)

Sam Hancock

Live page editor

Hello - myself and colleagues Thomas Mackintosh and Gabriela Pomeroy have now taken over from our overnight colleagues who got the page going this morning.

As they reported a little earlier, it's set to be much busier today with party leaders back from Normandy in France where they spent Thursday commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

The Conservatives and Labour have already made some fresh policy announcements, with the former pledging a £1,500 tax cut for parents and the latter launching a new Freedom to Buy scheme to get more young people onto the housing ladder. We'll get into those policies a bit more as the morning goes on.

In terms of who we'll see out and about today, we're expecting PM Rishi Sunak, Labour leader Keir Starmer, his deputy Angela Rayner and the SNP's John Swinney to be on the campaign trail. The Lib Dems and Reform UK don't have any events scheduled.

Sunak's also come out to deny that claims he made about Labour's tax plans were dubious, despite being criticised by the UK's statistics watchdog - more on that to come in our next post. Let's get going.

Lib Dems pledge to double maternity pay and bring in ‘dad month’

Vanessa Clarke

Education reporter

The Liberal Democrats' main policy announcement for Friday is a promise to increase statutory maternity leave, if they win the election.

A mum on statutory maternity leave normally gets 90% of her salary for the first six weeks and £184.03 for the next 33 weeks.

The Lib Dems say they’d boost this to £350. Statutory paternity pay would also rise and an extra “dad month” would be added to the two weeks currently available to encourage more fathers to take parental leave, party leader Ed Davey says.

This would be available to all self-employed parents too.

The bill, which the party estimates will cost £2.4bn a year, would be paid for by “clamping down on tax avoidance and evasion”.

But as Christine Farquharson from the Institute for Fiscal Studies points out, getting significant amounts of revenue from the so-called “tax gap” is certainly easier said than done – especially since much of the existing evasion comes from small businesses operating cash-in-hand.

Research from the independent research group shows maternity pay has been left “lagging behind” in recent years, with only three other OECD countries less financially generous.

What's the agenda for today?

Party leaders are back on the campaign trail after a relatively quiet day yesterday. Here's a look at what's to come:

• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be campaigning around south-west England
• Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will be teaming up with his deputy Angela Rayner to campaign in London
• Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey is taking a break from the campaign trail, as is Reform UK's Nigel Farage
• The Green Party will be out and about door-knocking
• Leader of the SNP, Scotland's First Minister John Swinney, will be delivering a speech in Glasgow
• Today at 16:00 BST is the deadline for candidates to register to stand for the general election. Once the lists in each electorate are finalised, we will publish them here on the BBC website

Good morning and welcome

Rob Corp

Live reporter

It's Friday morning and we're here with you for another day of election coverage. Put the kettle on and pop some bread in the toaster because there's lot of campaigning to come between now and 23:00 BST.

The parties are expected to be back at full speed today after yesterday's events in Normandy commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to be in south-west England, while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner will be on the stump around London.

While the leaders are out campaigning, there is other news to report - with Sunak denying he'd lied over that £2,000 Labour tax figure he used during Tuesday's ITV debate. The question was put to him by ITV in an interview for a special programme next week.

Today is also the deadline for candidates to register to stand for the general election - we'll put the list out later this afternoon once it is finalised.

This evening, from 19:30 BST, representatives from the seven biggest political parties in Great Britain will go head-to-head in a debate broadcast on BBC One and BBC News.

Before all that we'll catch you up on what the parties want to talk about today. So get the coffee brewing as we head off on another day of coverage ahead of the 4 July general election.