Keir Starmer was in full flow during his party conference speech when he made an unfortunate slip-up, calling for the return of “sausages” from Gaza. The prime minister had just praised his “decisive government” as one that was prepared to face the future, when he called for peace in the Middle East and the return of Israeli hostages taken during Hamas’s attack on 7 October last year. He will set off for the UN general assembly on Tuesday, and he told the conference about the message he would take to New York. “I call again for restraint and de-escalation at the border between Lebanon and Israel. I call again for all parties to step back from the brink. I call again for all parties to step back from the brink,” he said. “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.” The prime minister quickly recovered from the slip-up, which swiftly went viral. It did not appear to overshadow his message that things would get better for Britain – a country that he said was “no longer sure of itself” – if his government made difficult decisions now. Starmer was heckled during the speech, which was also attended by the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, by an audience member over Labour’s position on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Starmer said: “And every child deserves the chance to study the creative subjects that widen their horizons, provide skills employers do value, and prepares them for the future, the jobs and the world that they will inherit.”
“But more than that. Every child, every person, deserves to be respected for the contribution they make,” he added and was then heckled. A member of the audience shouted, “Does that include the children of Gaza?” Starmer responded: “This guy has obviously got a pass from the 2019 conference.” Starmer is no stranger to leaders’ gaffes. In July, he found himself a character witness for the US president, Joe Biden, who introduced the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as Vladimir Putin during a Nato summit.