Sir Keir Starmer KCB QC (/ˈkɪər ˈstɑːrmər/; born 2 September 1962) is a British Labour Party politician and barrister who serves as the Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras and is the Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. Previously, he was the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).[2] He was appointed DPP despite never having prosecuted during his career at the bar, where he had acted exclusively as a defence lawyer specialising in human rights issues.[3]