“Others can make up their own minds” about campaign stunts, says Sir Ed Davey

“Others can make up their own minds” about Sir Ed Davey’s campaign tragedy, the Liberal Democrat leader said.

Flipping burgers in a back garden on the campaign trail in Wiltshire, the party leader said he was “really sorry” for a speeding incident which hit the headlines yesterday.

He said his stunts on the campaign trail – which include flipping off a paddleboard in Windermere in the Lake District and speeding down the Ultimate Slip n Slide near Frome, Somerset – came with “very serious” messages.

Facing questions about the optics of his campaign so far, Sir Ed told the PA news agency: “I think other people can make up their own minds.

“I showed with some of the photos I took – of the paddleboarding in Lake Windermere – that there is a very serious message behind that fun.

“So in the Lake District we were talking about sewage and the fact that the Tories have allowed water companies to pump their dirty sewage into precious environments like the Lakes there or our rivers and our beaches and we’re campaigning on that.

“When I went down that slide with those kids, it was about mental health – the mental health of our children and young people – which was once again ignored by the Tories.”

Sir Ed added: “Regarding the speeding ticket… I was on the M1, I hadn’t noticed that the speed limit had temporarily dropped to 60mph and I broke the law and I’m very sorry for that. And I paid the fine.”

Sir Ed was caught traveling at 73mph near Caddington in Bedfordshire.

Asked if the Lib Dems had any coalition “red lines” should no party win a majority in the general election on July 4, Sir Ed said: “I’m not thinking about after the election.”

He said his party had done “so well” in recent local elections and that “the Liberal Democrats now can win” in places like the West Country and Home Counties.

Sir Ed has brushed off speculation that Nigel Farage’s return to the political frontline – nominating Reform UK in Clacton, on the Essex coast – could hamper his party’s chances among Tory and Liberal Democrat swing voters.

“The Lib Dems and I do not share any of Nigel Farage’s values,” he said.

“I’ll let the Tories worry about their own problems.

“What is clear about our Lib Dem ideas about the NHS and care, about tackling the sewer scandal, about the cost of living, also appeals to Tory voters.

“We get a lot of lifelong conservatives who switch to us. They’re not really attracted to Nigel Farage’s ideas.”

The Liberal Democrats held their Great British Barbecue in Wiltshire on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, attended by ex-service personnel who met Sir Ed.

The party leader told the media that D-Day “was a fight for freedom, a fight for democracy, if those brave men and women had not fought that day and walked on those beaches, we might not have an election … having the things we enjoy”.