Boris Johnson compared a dead monkey’s head to a Labour backbencher while on a visit to a police unit which confiscates wildlife products.

The Foreign Secretary muttered the remark after asking officers what species a trophy monkey was.

A police officer suggested a macaque, but Mr Johnson offered “a Labour backbencher”.

He said: “What’s this poor chap here? Faint air of a … Labour backbencher.”

Boris Johnson compared this monkey head to a Labour backbencher PA
Boris Johnson compared this monkey head to a Labour backbencher (PA)

Mr Johnson made the comment while attending the Metropolitan Police’s Wildlife Crime Unit in London, where some of the items recovered from raids on the black market are stored.

Mr Johnson saw items including rhino horns, raw ivory tusks and carved ivory specimens as well as animal trophies including a stuffed lion’s head, tiger skins and monkey hands.