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 Johnson offered “a Labour backbencher”.

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

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. 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.

While he was there, the Foreign Secretary 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.”