Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘wonderful’ brother dies aged 60 after suffering from cancer
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Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to his “wonderful” brother Nick, who has died aged 60 after suffering from cancer. The Prime Minister said his younger brother, who had learning difficulties because of complications at birth, had met “all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour”.
He died peacefully on Boxing Day, according to the Prime Minister’s spokesman. The Prime Minister had been due to go on holiday with his family on Friday, but it is understood that he will now remain at home, and hopes to join them later. Sir Keir said in a statement: “My brother Nick was a wonderful man.
“He met all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour. We will miss him very much. “I would like to thank all those who treated and took care of Nick. Their skill and compassion is very much appreciated.”. Sir Keir spoke candidly about his brother in a recent biography written by journalist and former Labour Party adviser Tom Baldwin.
While growing up in Surrey, the brothers shared a bunk bed in a room with an airing cupboard, and “just enough space for a couple of small desks where we’d do our homework”. The biography recorded how each child of the Starmer family was given a dog for their 10th birthday, and Nick and his twin sister Katy received Jack Russell terriers called Greg and Ben.
The book also described how their mother, Jo, had taught Nick to read, but Sir Keir remembered how the school described his brother as “remedial”. Sir Keir, the middle child of four siblings, said: “They had no expectation of him or anything and I’m not sure he even sat exams, so he had nothing to show for coming out of education.
