Keir Starmer’s speech to his party’s conference was disrupted by a lone protester who sprinkled the Labour leader with glitter before being hauled off stage. Merseyside police said a 28-year-old man from Surrey had been arrested on suspicion of assault, breach of the peace and causing public nuisance. The protester was taken out of the conference centre by a side door and driven away in a police van after he managed to get on stage and shout “true democracy is citizen-led”, while sprinkling glitter on Starmer. Starmer continued his speech after taking off his jacket, telling the conference: “If he thinks that bothers me, he doesn’t know me.” “Protest or power, that’s why we changed our party,” he said. The protester, believed to be called Yaz Ashmawi, was wearing a T-shirt bearing slogans for a new campaign calling for electoral reform and the introduction of proportional representation. A new group calling itself People Demand Democracy issued a statement quoting the demonstrator. “The Labour party has been captured, donors and lobbyists have more control over Keir Starmer than his members,” it quoted him as saying. “A House of Citizens will force politicians to listen to people, it dismantles their relationships with the rich, it would create meaningful change in our economy and fix inequality.” Just Stop Oil also tweeted its support for the protest, adding: “Just Stop Oil demand Keir Starmer commits to revoking the oil and gas licences granted by this zombie Tory government.” Questions will be asked about how the man managed to get on stage and make contact with Starmer. Entry to the event has been strictly controlled, with only delegates, accredited media and others with official accreditation being allowed in. Labour sources confirmed there was “a change of plan” at the end of Starmer’s speech and the leader was not brought down through the crowd, in a departure from normal practice. It was Starmer himself who decided not to walk down from the stage at the end of his speech, according to a party source. It is not clear how the protester gained access to the hall in the Liverpool exhibition centre for which only delegates with tickets to the leader’s speech could gain entry. Attenders with bags had them searched or scanned, but otherwise security at the Labour gathering has been relatively light-touch compared with the airport-style operation that was in place at the Conservative party conference in Manchester – partly due to the increased risks surrounding the presence of the prime minister. The security breach was criticised by many on social media who questioned not just why the protester was able to get to Starmer but also the time it took for a response. Anne McElvoy, the executive editor of Politico Europe, tweeted: “Starmer handled that very well. Def worrying in the present climate for so many reasons that security took so long to get to him.” Security inside the venue is run by the ACC Liverpool Group, which manages the site. ACC Liverpool said it “recognises the rights of all groups and individuals to free speech and freedom of expression” but the safety of all those attending events including speakers, performers, customers and staff was “of the utmost importance”. The venue said “highly trained stewarding and security teams ensured the incident was dealt with appropriately”.