Sir Keir Starmer KCB QC MP |
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Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union | |
Assumed office 6 October 2016 |
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Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
Shadowing | David Davis |
Preceded by | Emily Thornberry |
Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras |
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Assumed office 7 May 2015 |
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Preceded by | Frank Dobson |
Director of Public Prosecutions | |
In office 1 November 2008 – 1 November 2013 |
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Preceded by | Ken Macdonald |
Succeeded by | Alison Saunders |
Personal details | |
Born |
London, England, UK |
2 September 1962
Political party | Labour |
Spouse(s) | Victoria Alexander |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater |
University of Leeds St Edmund Hall, Oxford |
Website | Official website |
Sir Keir Starmer, KCB, QC (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister. Since the 2015 general election, he has been the Labour Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras. He was the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) from 2008 to 2013. He has prosecuted in numerous cases for the CPS during his career, while acting principally as a defence lawyer specialising in human rights issues.
Starmer was the second of four children of a toolmaker and a nurse. He was named after former Labour Party leader and socialist Keir Hardie. He passed the 11-Plus examination and gained entry to Reigate Grammar School, then a voluntary aided school. He studied law at the University of Leeds and graduated with a first class Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in 1985. He then undertook postgraduate studies at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and graduated from the University of Oxford Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) degree in 1986.