U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s address to the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool, England on Tuesday was marred by a pro-Palestinian heckler and a mistaken reference to Israeli hostages in Gaza as “sausages.”
After stating that “Every child, every person, deserves to be respected for the contribution they make,” an audience member called out: “Does that include the children of Gaza?”
Resuming his address, Starmer used the incident to highlight what he said were the changes he’d made to the party since it was lead by Jeremy Corbyn.
“We’ve changed the party,” said Starmer, amid applause from the crowd. “While he’s been protesting, we’ve been changing the party, that’s why we’ve got a Labour government,” he added, addressing the heckler.
He went on to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, a return to the two-state paradigm and the release of the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, mistakenly calling them “sausages” before quickly correcting himself.
Starmer’s address comes after the British government suspended some military sales to the Israel Defense Forces at the beginning of September, citing a “clear risk” the systems in question could be used by the Israel Defense Forces to “commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy informed lawmakers that London would cancel 30 out of 350 licenses, banning the export of aircraft, drones, helicopters and ground targeting equipment.
While serving as a member of the British parliament in 2019, Lammy described the Israeli government’s decision to deny U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) visas for their self-stated visit to “Palestine” as “the behaviour of tyrants, not democrats.”
“Petty, small and vindictive,” he wrote at the time, adding, “Shame on [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.”
Netanyahu responded to the suspension of arms sales to Israel by calling the decision “shameful.” He emphasized that the move would not affect the Jewish state’s determination to defeat Hamas.
“Days after Hamas executed six Israeli hostages, the UK government suspended thirty arms licenses to Israel,” he tweeted.
“This shameful decision will not change Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that savagely murdered 1,200 people on October 7th, including 14 British citizens,” the post continued. Noting that there were five British citizens among the 101 still being held in Gaza by the terrorist group, he wrote: “Instead of standing with Israel, a fellow democracy defending itself against barbarism, Britain’s misguided decision will only embolden Hamas.”
