KENNETH STARR: BEYOND AN OBITUARY

NOTE: Ten days ago I wrote an obituary of Kenneth Starr for the Guardian. Originally they had asked for something quite short, but later, without my asking, extended my word limit to 1,000. I went to 1,100, trying to explain and set context. For obvious reasons, around the death of the Queen, it wasn’t a priority, and when I was sent the edited version, I was asked for some explainers. I re-inserted only one line, which I’d thought essential, but because of explanations answering their queries, my second draft, which follows below, was over 1,200 words. The explainers were cut out, and a few other…