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Boris Johnson compares dead monkey head to Labour backbencher

Boris Johnson compared a dead monkey’s head to Labour backbencher during a visit to a Metropolitan Police facility which confiscates illegal wildlife products.

When the foreign secretary was shown the head of a Macaque he asked: “What’s this poor chap here? Faint air of a …labour backbencher.”

During his visit to the Metropolitan Police's Wildlife Crime Unit in London, Mr Johnson was shown some items which had been recovered from raids on the black market.

Officers showed him five rhino horns and dozens of ivory tusks and other pieces.

Despite his cheeky jibe to Labour MPs, he said he was serious about tackling the problem of illegal wildlife trade.

He said: “All kinds of animals are disappearing and much of it is being driven by poachers and traffickers who need to be tackled by the police.

“I think they are doing a fantastic job”.

His recent visit followed on from a trip to Asia where he viewed illegal ivory seized by Thai customs.

The UK is due to host an international conference on illegal wildlife trade in October, bringing together global leaders to address the issue of illegal trading around the world.