Heckler showers glitter on UK opposition leader before key speech

A heckler scattered glitter on Britain's opposition leader Keir Starmer on Tuesday as he began to deliver a keynote speech at his Labour party's annual conference.

Starmer had just arrived on the event's main stage in Liverpool, northwest England, to make his address when he was interrupted by the male protester who stormed the platform.

The protester shouted "true democracy is citizen-led" and "politics needs an update" as well as other slogans, before scattering glitter over Starmer's head and shoulders.

Several officers then surrounded the protester and removed him.

Starmer appeared largely unfazed, removing his glitter-strewn jacket to deliver his much-anticipated speech after making several quips about the incident.

"If he thinks that bothers me he doesn't know me," Starmer told the cheering audience.

"Protest or power? That is why we changed our party, conference," he added.

Starmer has revived Labour's standing since replacing leftist Jeremy Corbyn as its leader in 2020, overhauling the party after it suffered its worst election performance in decades in December, 2019.

Corbyn had been a Labour lawmaker for decades but never held a government post during its 13-year period in power from 1997.

© 2023 AFP