Keir Starmer makes light of his 'return of the sausages' gaffe

It was for many the most memorable part of Sir Keir Starmer's first speech to Labour party conference as Prime Minister – but for all the wrong reasons.

Now he has spoken for the first time about the unfortunate moment when he mistakenly called for 'the return of the sausages' instead of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

On his trip to New York this week the PM was asked by reporters how the slip of the tongue had come about – and if it had been because he was hungry.

He replied: 'I just mangled the beginning of the word. Have you never done that?'

Making light of the gaffe, he went on: 'These things are there to give you an opportunity to rib me.'

In his keynote speech to the party faithful in Liverpool on Tuesday, Sir Keir had been discussing the situation in the Middle East when he made the mix-up.

'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,' he said.

His error quickly went viral, triggering a wave of jokes and puns on social media.

Some said 'the wurst is yet to come' while many shared mocked-up Star Wars film posters imagining a new instalment called The Return of the Sausages.