Rishi Sunak has said it was a “mistake” to return from D-Day commemorations in Normandy early.
The prime minister was heavily criticised for not being at part of the 80th anniversary D-Day ceremony on Thursday as he travelled back from France to the UK to record a TV interview set to go out next week.
He was last seen giving a speech mid-morning and was notably absent from the International Ceremony on Omaha Beach at 3.30pm that was billed as being attended by 25 heads of state, veterans and officials.
There are also questions about whether the PM was going to attend at all as he wanted to concentrate on the general election campaign, but that decision is understood to have been reversed with a short visit agreed on as a compromise.
On Friday morning, Mr Sunak issued an apology and said he cares “deeply about veterans”, but the mishap has left him open to attacks from other political parties as the election campaign enters its third week.
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“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,” he wrote on social media.
“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.”
Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross said the commemoration was a “crucial moment in our history” and it was “right that he apologise”.
Veterans Affairs minister Johnny Mercer said the PM leaving early was a major “mistake” and after speaking to Mr Sunak this morning, he told The Sun: “He knows this is a mistake.”
“Obviously, you can imagine how I felt, as the Veterans’ Minister, when this happened,” he said.
He also accused the reaction from other politicians as being “faux outrage” and “pretty nauseating” because he said many have “done nothing but make my life difficult trying to improve veterans’ affairs”.
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Rishi Sunak praises D-Day veterans
Other political parties used the “mistake” to attack Mr Sunak, saying it was “a dereliction of duty”.
Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, posted on X after Mr Sunak’s apology, saying: “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.
“It is a total dereliction of duty and shows why this Conservative government just has to go.”
Labour shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth said: “In choosing to prioritise his own vanity TV appearances over our veterans, Rishi Sunak has shown what is most important to him.
“It is yet more desperation, yet more chaos, and yet more dreadful judgement from this out of touch prime minister.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told Sky News: “For me, it was really important to be there for the whole day, that was the only choice I was going to make.
“The prime minister will have to answer for his choices.”
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Lord Cameron (L) stood in for Mr Sunak for a photo with the French, German and US leaders. Pic: Reuters
Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey has written to defence secretary Grant Shapps requesting answers to questions including when the decision for Mr Sunak to only attend part of the ceremony was made, whether the TV interview was recorded while D-Day events were ongoing and if it is true the French government were initially informed the Pm would not attend.
SNP minister Neil Gray also called it a “dereliction of duty” and told Sky News the PM had “ill-served” the memory of his grandfather who served on D-Day.
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“I think it is utterly appalling and disgusting,” Mr Gray said.
“I think the offence that will be caused to the veterans community will be great.
“For the prime minister to think that a TV interview was more important than completing those commemorations is an appalling lack of judgement.”
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.
The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.
While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.
According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.
Source: Web.archive.org
Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.
The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.
Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph
Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.
Related: Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset
Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”
“At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.
“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding:
“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”
However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.
Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension
Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?
In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.
Satoshi’s new addresses. Source: Conor Grogan
If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.
Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.
Magazine: 10 crypto theories that missed as badly as ‘Peter Todd is Satoshi’
The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.
On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.
Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”
Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.
The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020.
“US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.”
Source: Anthony Scaramucci
On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.
Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the rate US trading partners impose on American goods.
Related: Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support as ‘World War 3 of trade wars’ crushes US stocks
Meanwhile, the crypto industry has pointed out that while the stock market continues to decline, Bitcoin (BTC) remains stronger than most expected.
Crypto trader Plan Markus pointed out in an April 4 X post that while the entire stock market “is tanking,” Bitcoin is holding.
Source: Jeff Dorman
Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty.
Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.”
Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.
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