Keir Starmer heckled by protester as Labour Party Conference in chaos | Politics | News

Keir Starmer‘s speech at the Labour Party Conference has been thrown into chaos as the Prime Minister was heckled by a member of the crowd.

The man, identified as 18-year-old Daniel Riley, could be seen being dragged out by security as Sir Keir paused to address the disruption, quipping: ”This guy’s obviously got a pass from the 2019 conference.”

Mr Riley told reporters after being released by security: “Every day 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.”

“While he’s been protesting, we’ve been changing the party,” he added. “That’s why we’ve got a Labour Government.”

It comes just a day after Rachel Reeves was heckled by a pro-Palestine activist before he was grabbed by the neck and hauled out of the venue.

The heckler shouted about the sale of arms to Israel before security removed him from the hall.

“I thought we were voting for change Rachel, climate breakdown is on our doorstep,” the protester shouted as delegates drowned out his words.

Ms Reeves responded that Labour “represents working people, not a party of protest.”

In the Prime Minister’s speech today, his first at a Labour conference since winning power, he defended the government’s controversial decision to take away winter fuel payments from 10 million pensioners.

Sir Keir warned the public that he won’t try to give “easy answers” or “false hope” and acknowledged that the British people are “exhausted by and with politics”.

“Our project has not and never will change,” he told the party faithful. “I changed the Labour Party to restore it to the service of working people, and that is exactly what we will do for Britain.

“But I will not do it with easy answers. I will not do it with false hope. Not now, not ever. That is how we got here in the first place. So I know, after everything you’ve been through, how hard it is to hear a politician ask for more.

“But deep down, I think you also know that our country does need a long-term plan and that we can’t turn back,” he added.

Follow all the latest from the Labour Party Conference in the Express live blog here.

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