Boris Johnson today compared a dead monkey’s head to Labour backbenchers while on a tour of illegally-poached animals seized by Scotland Yard.
The Foreign Secretary made the odd slight as he inspected stuffed tigers, rhino horn and other rare specimens which were being illegally smuggled over the border.
Mr Johnson heard about the battle to crack down on the criminal trade amid high online demand for primates.
Officers told how collectors in the gruesome trade spent money buying severed monkey hands turned into trinkets and monkey skulls.
He was shown a trophy monkey head as he toured a room of seized goods and asked: ‘What’s this poor chap here? Faint air of a … Labour backbencher.’
Boris Johnson inspected stuffed tigers, rhino horn and other rare specimens which were being illegally smuggled over the border while on a tour of illegally-poached animals seized by Scotland Yard today (pictured)
Boris Johnson compared a dead monkey’s head (pictured) to a Labour backbencher while on the tour of seized animal trophies
Boris Johnson also inspected this rhino horn (pictured) while on the tour. The Tories are trying to cast themselves as the party of animal welfare and have vowed to crack down on the illegal trade in poached wild animals
He was shown a variety of wild animals which have been killed, stuffed and illegally traded which the Met’s Wildlife Crime Unit have seized.
The Tory minister condemned the ‘criminal lowlifes’ trading in illegal wildlife products after seeing a haul of tusks, stuffed big cats and monkey hands seized by police.
He said: ‘When we think of the illegal wildlife trade, the slaughter of elephants, rhinos and other species teetering on the brink of extinction, we think of Africa, Asia and distant countries where some think this acceptable.
‘We rarely associate this crime with our own shores. To say I was angry to see the haul of ivory, rhino horns, animal furs and other items in the gross menagerie of seized illegal animal products in London is an understatement.
‘This is not just a crime taking place overseas. Criminal lowlifes operate right here in the UK and the Met Police and other forces are working to stop them in their tracks.
‘Criminal gangs trafficking wildlife across UK borders will not be permitted to operate with impunity, but this requires a global effort, tackling both the supply and demand of this odious trade.’
He added: ‘We will not let up our efforts to ensure that future generations can share our planet with rhinos and elephants and that the criminals who seek to harm them face justice.’
The Foreign Secretary also learned about a new technique for taking fingerprints from ivory using iron filings.
Mr Johnson was invited by officers to take his own fingerprint from a tusk to see how the technique worked, to which he joked: ‘I don’t want to get fitted up for this.’
Officers told Mr Johnson how the technique increased the chances of building a legal case against perpetrators.
His visit to the centre follows on from a recent visit to Asia where he viewed illegally trafficked ivory and pangolin scales seized by Thai customs.
The Government has pledged to do everything within its power to crack down on the illegal and barabaric trade.
In October, the UK will host an international conference on the illegal wildlife trade, bringing together global leaders to work to end wildlife crime.
The monkey trophy, which was singled out by Boris Johnson, had been illegally smuggled by criminals
The Foreign Secretary also learned about a new technique for taking fingerprints from ivory using iron filings (pictured, inspecting one)
Mr has got a reputation for using colourful language in with put-downs and his gaffes.
He sparked a diplomatic row after penning a limerick mockingly describing Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan having sex with a goat.
And he faced calls to be sacked after he suggested that Libya would be a great tourist destination once they have cleared away the dead bodies form the bloody civil war and terror attacks.
He said: ‘And they literally have a brilliant vision to turn Sirte, with the help of the municipality of Sirte, to turn it into the next Dubai.
‘The only thing they’ve got to do is clear the dead bodies away and then they’ll be there.’