Labour sells ‘Sparkle with Starmer’ T-shirts after protester showers him with glitter

Labour is selling limited edition "Sparkle with Starmer" T-shirts after a protester stormed the stage during the party leader's conference speech and doused him in glitter.

A description of the £20 tops, which have already sold out, urged Keir Starmer fans to “unleash your inner shimmer with our brand new, exclusive” T-shirts.

Moments after taking to the stage for his keynote speech in Liverpool on Tuesday, Mr Starmer was accosted by a glitter-bombing protester.

The man, named Yaz Ashmawi, rushed on stage and shouted: “We demand a people’s house, we are in crisis –  politics needs an update. We are in crisis.”

A group that calls itself the People Demand Democracy, which Just Stop Oil describes as “friends” and had just five followers on Twitter before the incident, claimed responsibility for the stunt.

The protester was wearing a T-shirt featuring the group’s name.

Ashmawi was dragged from the room by security after the microphone was cut and shouted “democracy first” as he was removed from the venue.

Police later said a 28-year-old from Surrey was arrested on suspicion of assault, breach of the peace and causing public nuisance.

Security at the Liverpool venue was notably laxer than that at the Conservative conference in Manchester last week, with limited bag-searched for attendees on the way in, in contrast to the full airport-style security for Rishi Sunak’s party.

Following the incident, Sir Keir, who has repeatedly highlighted how he has shifted the party since Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, told the audience: “If he thinks that bothers me, he doesn’t know me. Protest or power?

“That’s why we’ve changed our party, conference. It’s just as well it was me, because my wife’s dress is really beautiful.”

The Labour leader then removed his jacket, before continuing his speech with glitter on the shoulders of his white shirt.

During his speech, Sir Keir promised to oversee a “decade of renewal” if his party wins the next general election, expected in the spring or autumn next year.

He promised to build 1.5 million homes by developing the “next generation” of new towns, vowing to  “bulldoze” through the planning system and reform public services.