Nigel Farage came under fire on Sunday for claiming that Rishi Sunak does not care about British culture in a row over last week’s D-Day commemorations.

The Reform leader’s remarks prompted a backlash from across the political spectrum as a Labour frontbencher accused him of “dog whistle” politics.

Mr Sunak was forced to apologise for missing a world leaders’ event marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings so he could return to the election campaign on Thursday.

In an interview with the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Farage said: “It shows the man doesn’t understand. He is not patriotic, he doesn’t care about our history, our culture.”

Asked by Ms Kuenssberg to clarify what he meant by “our culture”, Mr Farage replied: “I know what your question is leading at. I’d just make the point, 40 per cent of our contribution in two wars came from the Commonwealth. Clearly Mr Sunak doesn’t understand that.

“And what an insult to the Americans. That took place above Omaha Beach, where the Americans suffered so grievously. He has made the biggest mistake of his political career. If there wasn’t an election campaign, there’d be a leadership challenge this week.”

Speaking on the same programme, Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, criticised Mr Farage for “deeply regrettable comments”.

“I think they are suggesting things – I’m not going to go any further than that, because I don’t want to stoke anything up,” Mr Stride said.

“It just seems to me that’s an ill-advised thing to have said. I feel very uncomfortable with that.”

Shabana Mahmood, Labour’s shadow justice secretary, claimed the comments represented a “classic Nigel Farage trick”.

“Lean just far enough to signal a bit of a dog whistle, and then lean straight back and sound perfectly reasonable,” she said.

“We can all see exactly what Nigel Farage is doing. He’s got form and this is completely unacceptable. This is a man that has a track record of seeking to divide communities. He just wants to do it with a veneer of respectability.”

It came as Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, declined to say whether he thought his opposite number was patriotic.

Speaking on a campaign visit in Essex, Sir Keir told reporters: “It’s not for me to answer for the Prime Minister. He will eventually have to come out and answer the question.”

‘Deeply patriotic person’

Polling by Savanta for The Telegraph in the wake of the D-Day commemorations showed two-thirds (68 per cent) of voters believe it was unacceptable for Mr Sunak to leave early.

Mr Stride insisted the Prime Minister was a “deeply patriotic person who cares deeply about this country” and noted Johnny Mercer, the veterans minister, was elevated to cabinet when Mr Sunak took office in October 2022.

“If you look around the Cabinet table, you will see Johnny Mercer there, representing veterans right at the highest level in government, the continued funding of that unit within the Cabinet Office, the commitment we’ve got in the manifesto to make sure going forward we enshrine in law the kind of support we believe that our veterans should have.

“The Prime Minister personally strongly believes in all of those things and his commitment, his patriotism, is beyond doubt. That’s not the same thing as saying a mistake was not made, he accepts that.”