It was surely intended as a gesture of his sorrow at her enforced departure from government.
Instead of sending the usual typed letter to a resigning Minister, Sir Keir Starmer chose his fountain pen yesterday to bid farewell to Angela Rayner.
But, unfortunately for the Prime Minister, his 286-word, handwritten missive revealed rather more.
According to respected forensic handwriting expert Ruth Myers, the strokes of his pen show a man who can be ‘untrustworthy’, ‘two-faced’ and subject to mood swings.
Aiming to be ‘top dog’ and competitive, he can also be ‘easily angered at times’ and ‘likes to control’.
The Mail on Sunday sent Ms Myers a copy of Sir Keir’s letter to Ms Rayner in which he wrote in longhand of how he was ‘very sad’ that her time as Deputy PM and Labour deputy leader had ‘ended in this way’.
The handwriting expert observed that this was a man with a ‘poised, cool temperament’ who found it difficult to ‘express his feelings’. Ms Myers said: ‘Many introverts find it easier to voice their feelings by the written word.’
Sir Keir came across as someone who ‘faces problems without losing control’ but was also ’emotionally aloof’.
Sir Keir Starmer chose the untraditional method of writing Angela Rayner a farewell letter with his own fountain pen on Friday, September 5
Forensic handwriting expert Ruth Myers said that the strokes of Keir’s pen show a man who can be ‘untrustworthy’, ‘two-faced’ and subject to mood swings
The three-page handwritten letter from the Prime Minister to Angela Rayner was 268 words long
Alarmingly, based on his handwriting, he was also ‘subject to mood swings’ and had a tendency to evasiveness.
Ms Myers concluded: ‘He communicates but is cautious and can be evasive shown by the tucked-in hooks within circle letters. In particular, the open ‘d’s’ at the base of the character indicate unexpressed hostility.
‘The erratic spacing [suggests] emotional turmoil. Although outwardly amenable, he is in reality a loner. However, his hooked ‘d’s’ reflect an untrustworthy individual, two-faced and duplicitous.’
Downing Street was approached for comment.
