The leaders of Russia and Ukraine have held their first talks since Moscow annexed Crimea, discussing ways to end their four-month conflict in a brief encounter during commemorations in France of the World War Two D-Day landings.

The past spoke loudly this week reminding us all that we are no more than a culmination of circumstances, some noble others less so, some fortuitous others contrived.

This week, as we mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day, it is hard to imagine that any of the four deputies who have offered themselves to the membership of the Labour party as prospective deputy leaders epitomise the qualities of leadership and courage that prevailed on the beaches of Normandy in June 1944.