Heckler interrupts Keir Starmer’s keynote speech
A Labour Party member today heckled Sir Keir Starmer during his keynote speech in Liverpool.
The Prime Minister’s speech was coming to a close when the activist, revealed as 18-year-old Daniel Riley, started shouting and wagging his finger about the war in Gaza.
Sir Keir, who also had glitter thrown over him at Labour’s conference last year, tried to brush the protest off by quipping to the crowd: ‘This guy has obviously got a pass from the 2019 conference.’
The crowd applauded and cheered as Mr Riley, who was wearing a red polo shirt and a lanyard with a Palestine flag on it, was escorted out by security.
Sir Keir smiled and added: ‘While he’s been protesting, we’ve been changing the party. That’s why we’ve got a Labour government.’
It comes after another group of hecklers targeted Chancellor Rachel Reeves‘ speech yesterday. They were also pro-Palestine protesters who were calling for a halt to arms sales in Israel as the Middle East war rages on.
The Labour conference has also been overshadowed by a row over Sir Keir and his Cabinet taking ‘freebies’.
Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party Conference speech was interrupted by a heckler in Liverpool today
The Labour leader tried to brush the interruption off by joking to the crowd: ‘This guy has obviously got a pass from the 2019 conference.’
The protester started shouting and wagging his finger at Sir Keir Starmer as his speech drew to a close
He was then escorted out of the Labour Party Conference by security guards
It comes after a protester threw glitter over Sir Keir Starmer at the Labour conference last year
Mr Riley, who is the chair of Reform Youth, the youth wing of social democratic political party Reform Jersey, said he was moved to shout due to Sir Keir’s stance on the Middle East.
He told reporters after being released by security: ‘Everyday we’re still sending British bombs and British bullets that are being used in Lebanon and in Gaza right now and the Prime Minister – he could stop that, he could stop that right now but he doesn’t.
‘And he says that he wants things to stop but he won’t lift a finger to actually stop it.’
Asked if he had planned to disrupt the leader’s speech, Mr Riley said: ‘No, I was a delegate, I’m a Labour Party member, I hoped I’d be one for life but I suspect not now.’
Earlier in the speech, Sir Keir had addressed the crisis in the Middle East and the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
But after the PM urged for an ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza, he went on to make an awkward gaffe as he called for the ‘return of the sausages’, seemingly fumbling his words before correcting himself.
He said: ‘I call again for restraint and de-escalation between Lebanon and Israel. I call again for all parties to pull back from the brink.
‘I call again for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the return of the sausages… the hostages, and a recommitment to the two-state solution, a recognised Palestine and a safe and secure Israel.’
The latest protest comes after Sir Keir was targeted with glitter at a Labour conference in October 2023.
That protest, which delayed the Labour leader’s speech, was claimed by People Demand Democracy. Sir Keir dusted off the glitter and insisted that the protest did not bother him.
The PM was also targeted at his manifesto launch ahead of the general election, when a protester shouted: ‘My generation is being let down by this party and this manifesto.’
Sir Keir used his keynote speech at the Labour conference to launch a bid to reboot his fledgling premiership as he begged Brits to be ‘patient’ and stick with his ‘painful choices’ rather than go down the ‘road to nowhere’.
The PM struck a more positive tone in his first address to activists since taking power, as he tries to move on from damaging rows over winter fuel allowance, tax hikes and freebies.
Watched by wife Victoria, Sir Keir told the gathering in Liverpool the country can find the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ if the right course is set now.
But he warned there were no ‘easy answers’ and the task would be ‘hard’ – pointing the finger at the Tories for ‘serving themselves’ and pleading with restive Labour supporters to take ‘pride’ in what they were achieving.
18-year-old student Daniel Riley, who heckled the Prime Minister during his speech, speaks to reporters afterwards
Prime Minister Keir Starmer gestures as he delivers his keynote speech during the Labour Party conference
The Prime Minister was later joined on stage by his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer
A group of other hecklers also targeted Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ conference speech yesterday
Acknowledging that he will not ‘get everything right’, Sir Keir said ‘populist’ criticism of his performance so far was ‘water off a duck’s back’.
‘This is a long-term project, I’ve never pretended otherwise. But conference make no mistake, the work of change has begun,’ he said. ‘We’re only just getting started.’
In a nod to voters’ priorities, Sir Keir will also highlight his commitments to tackling high immigration and crack down on benefits fraud.
The speech follows a torrid spell for Labour that saw any feelgood factor from the July election landslide abruptly disappear.
The party has spent weeks fielding difficult questions about the thousands of pounds of gifts received by Sir Keir and senior figures such as Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner.
