Who Is Keir Starmer, The New UK Prime Minister?

The Labour leader often highlights his roots in a “working-class background,” frequently mentioning the “pebble-dash semi” in Oxted, Surrey, where he was raised. His father worked as a toolmaker, while his mother was a nurse who battled Still’s disease, a rare autoimmune disorder that eventually left her unable to speak or walk.

He attended Reigate Grammar School, which transitioned to a private institution two years into his attendance. His tuition was covered by the local council until he turned 16.

He was the first in his family to attend university, studying law at Leeds and later Oxford. In 1987, he qualified as a barrister, specializing in human rights law. His career took him to the Caribbean and Africa, where he defended death row inmates.

In the late 1990s, he provided pro bono services to the McLibel activists, who were sued by McDonald’s for distributing leaflets challenging the company’s environmental practices.

In 2008, he became the Director of Public Prosecutions, the highest-ranking criminal prosecutor in England and Wales.