Keir Starmer calls for Hamas ‘launch the sausages’ in speech banger clanger

Keir Starmer faced a different kind of grilling in his first Labour Conference speech as Prime Minister when he accidentally fluffed his prepared comments.

During his speech to the Liverpool ACC, Mr Starmer called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and touched on the escalation of violence in the Middle East.

Speaking about the situation with Hamas still holding a number of hostages after seizing 251 people from Israel and taking them to the Gaza Strip on October 7 last year, Mr Starmer accidentally referred to the hostages as “sausages”.

“I call again for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the return of the sausages – the hostages and a recommitment to the two-state solution: recognised Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel.”

A real banger. As it were.

It comes after Mr Starmer made light of his glitter-bomb moment at last year’s conference, during which a protestor got up on stage, hugged him and threw green glitter over his jacket.

In his speech today, the PM quipped: “You know me by now, so you know all those shouts and bellows, the bad faith advice from people who still hanker for the politics of noisy performance, the weak and cowardly fantasy of populism – it’s water off a duck’s back. Mere glitter on a shirt cuff. It’s never distracted me before, and it won’t distract me now.”

Viewers on X, formerly Twitter, were thrilled with Mr Starmer’s gaffe, with one joking: “Starmer calls for the release of the sausages to enable peas in the Middle East. His mashing with Israel is different gravy.”

Another wrote: “Keir Starmer calls for “the return of the sausages.” Labour’s most meaty policy yet.”

And a third shared a snap of their own sausages at home, quipping: “@Keir_ Starmer… just checked and my sausages have come home safely , thanks for all your hard work.”