Keir Starmer cries as he reveals heartbreak of mother’s death just weeks before becoming MP in ’emotional’ interview
SIR Keir Starmer cried as he revealed his heartbreak after his mother died just weeks before he became an MP in a “searingly honest and intensely emotional” interview with Piers Morgan.
The Labour leader, 58, has previously been slammed as "boring" - but revealed his personal side in the sit-down chat with the ex-GMB host.
He revealed a string of family tragedies, including speaking about his mother's death and losing his dog in a house fire.
And the politician spoke about losing his mother Jo after she was diagnosed with Still's disease, a rare type of inflammatory arthritis - with his mum dying in 2015 before he was elected as the MP for Holborn and St Pancras.
Sir Keir said: “It was really tragic.
“She would have loved to have seen that. But she was so ill by then.
"That was the stage in her life when she’d had her leg amputated.
“She couldn’t move, she couldn’t use her hands, so she had to be fed. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t communicate. I would have loved her to have been there but she was in a terrible way. In a terrible, terrible place.”
Speaking in the three-hour interview on Friday for Piers Morgan's hit ITV show Life Stories, he said he wished his children had been able to know her.
He added: "One of my biggest regrets is that our kids never knew her because by the time they were born, she was incapable of moving, speaking or being who she was. She was broken by then.
Asked what he wanted to say to his mother, Sir Keir choked back tears as he replied: “I love you.”
He also spoke of his mother-in-law’s fall downstairs and how she spent 17 days in intensive care — as well as the tragic death of the family dog in a fire.
During the candid chat, he also told how a fire ripped through an outhouse killing the family dog, destroying irreplaceable family photographs and precious heirlooms, including his mother’s gold wedding band.
TV host Morgan said: “I’ve done 100 shows and I’ve rarely seen such raw emotion from any of my guests. People often ask, ‘Who is the real Keir Starmer?’ Well, there is a lot more to him than people think.
What is Still's Disease?
This rare type of inflammatory arthritis is marked by fever, rash and joint pain.
Adult-onset Still’s disease is a rare type of arthritis that is thought to be autoummune or autoinflammatory.
It has similar symptoms to systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis -- fever, rash and joint pain.
It begins in adulthood, so it's compared to rheumatoid arthritis. Inflammation may affect a few joints at first.
Over time, more joints may be involved.
Some people may have only one bout of the illness followed by lasting remission (no visible symptoms), while others develop chronic arthritis.
The disease affects men and women equally, usually young adults between the ages of 16 and 35.
The cause of adult Still’s disease is unknown. Research suggests that it may be triggered by an infection.
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“This is the interview that shows the real him and it is one of the most searingly honest and intensely emotional interviews I’ve ever done.
“You are left with a real sense of a man who comes from humble beginnings who has worked extremely hard and has had to overcome terrible adversity and a string of family tragedies, all of which have shaped him into the person he is today.”
The show, which airs on ITV and ITV Hub on June 1 at 9.30pm, was filmed in front of 40 people, including Sir Keir’s wife Victoria.