Sir Keir Starmer has opened the Labour Party’s annual conference with a tribute to the late Queen before singing God save the King.

This is the first time the national anthem has been sung at the party’s conference and there were fears it would be met with boos from some MPs.

A video shows the Labour leader describing Her Majesty as ‘this great country’s greatest monarch’ in his speech, which was met with a round of applause from attendees in Liverpool.

A minute’s silence was then held in the sovereign’s memory, before the politician led a rendition of the anthem, backed by his shadow cabinet.

Many in the hall were seen singing the anthem and applause was heard once it concluded.

Concerns were expressed by some about the decision to sing the anthem, with a leaflet handed out by Labour Left Internationalists saying: ‘As democratic, secular, internationalist socialists, we certainly won’t be, and we suspect a lot of other delegates won’t either.’

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It added: ‘The degree of the leadership’s doubling down on monarchism is remarkable and almost comic.’

Sir Keir’s predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, has already criticised the move, arguing there was no precedent for singing it.

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