The Labour leader said a lot of people have asked him what was going through his mind when the man stormed the stage ahead of his keynote address to the party conference in Liverpool.

Politics Live: Starmer faces questions from Kay Burley

He said he was "absolutely not going to be put off" from making his case to the nation about why he should be the next prime minister.

He told Sky News: "We have worked for four years to get the Labour Party to a position where I could speak not just to the room - there were 2,000 or so people in the room - but to the country.

"I was not going to let that idiot deflect me. And that's why I took my jacket off, rolled up my sleeves, notwithstanding the bits of glitter still in my hair and I think on my shoulder, and delivered the speech about national renewal versus continuing decline."

Sir Keir said his speech - in which he pledged to "rebuild Britain" - was about "reaching into the soul of the British people".

He said it was not heavy on policy detail because he was aiming to "create an emotional connection" with voters to "give people a sense that things can renew, wounds can heal, what is broken can be repaired".

He said people have told him they have been reassured by his message around fiscal discipline and political stability, but they asked if he could "build the hope on top of that".

Asked when we will get "meat on the bones", he insisted that "a lot of policy detail" has been set out at this conference around economic growth, the NHS, clean energy, education, and plans to "take back control of our streets" with more police officers.

"We will be laser-focused on these changes that are needed within our country," he said.

The party conference in Liverpool could be the last before the next general election, and Labour have been using it as a final opportunity to present themselves as a government in waiting.

In his hour-long speech, Sir Keir pitched himself as a reformer with plans to rip up planning red tape in order to build new towns, homes and infrastructure.

He doubled down on that message in various morning interviews today, vowing to get tough with "nimby" MPs who object to building projects in their areas.

"We are going to have to be tough with anybody who stands in the way of that and that will include any Labour MPs who say 'well, I'm signed up to the project but just not here'," he told Times Radio.

He added that he was confident he will meet his target of building 1.5 million new homes in the first term of government, saying he has spent the last year "bombproofing" his policy pledges so they are credible.

Speaking later to the BBC Radio Four programme, he said the plans were "absolutely about social justice", as they would allow more working class people to get on the housing ladder.