Boris Johnson compares dead monkey head to Labour backbencher

Boris Johnson, the UK's most senior diplomat, has compared a dead monkey's head to a Labour backbencher.

The foreign secretary was on a visit to a police unit which confiscates wildlife products.

He 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". The confiscated monkey's head Boris Johnson compared to a Labour backbencher

He said: "What's this poor chap here? Faint air of a... Labour backbencher."

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.

He 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.

Boris Johnson is 53 years old.