Labour leader Keir Starmer has been catching up with a respected Hitchin councillor at their party conference this week.

Our town's most renowned local politician, Judi Billing, met the head of the Labour Party during separate events at the party's annual showpiece event over the last few days.

The pair are well known to each other through political circles, which also saw Mr Starmer visit Hitchin last year, when he spoke exclusively to Nub News.

Councillor Billing told Nub News: "Keir and I remembered the lovely day in September last year that he came to Hitchin, visited Marketplace and Waterstones and went to meet the staff and children at Whitehill School.

"He was on great form and seemed relaxed and cheerful at the beginning of a vitally important and massively busy conference week."

Councillor Billing met the Labour leader while giving a speech about antisemitism.

In a powerful talk to party members, Ms Billing, the daughter of a refugee from Hitler's Germany, said she was sick of Jewish members having to sit in the conference hall "feeling tense and scared", as she had done recently.

Ms Billing explained that growing up in London's Paddington with Windrush families, the one thing she understood was that if you opposed racism, you had to get involved with Labour.

Her second encounter with the Labour leader councillor was at the Eastern Region Labour reception on Saturday night.

"I think the world of him and was delighted that he joined us," added highly-regarded councillor Billing.