Former Conservative minister, outspoken Christian and broadcaster Ann Widdecombe has died at the age of 78.
A statement from her agents, Cloud 9 Management, said: "It is with great sadness that today we announce the death of The Right Honourable Ann Widdecombe, DSG. We send our deepest condolences to Ann's family and friends."
Widdecombe served as the Conservative MP for Maidstone for 23 years before leaving Parliament in 2010. After more than five decades in the Conservative Party, she later joined Nigel Farage's Brexit Party and subsequently became a prominent spokeswoman for Reform UK.
Alongside her political career, she became a familiar face to television audiences through appearances on Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.
Throughout her public life, Widdecombe was known for speaking openly about her Christian faith. Raised in an evangelical Anglican family, she attended a Catholic convent school before experiencing what she later described as a "slow erosion of faith" during adulthood.
In 1993, after years of questioning, she was received into the Roman Catholic Church, saying she was drawn by its confidence in biblical truth.
Reflecting on her conversion in a 2019 interview with Premier Christianity, she said: "The Anglican Church always preferred compromise over Creed and seemed to go with anything that was fashionable. The Pope, on the other hand, took the view that there was right and there was wrong, and it was not determined by popularity."
Her faith remained central to her politics and public life, particularly on issues including abortion, marriage and freedom of speech.
She said that Christians increasingly faced pressure for expressing their beliefs publicly.
"I would very much like free speech to come back," she said. "At the moment, you can be disciplined at work simply for saying, 'God bless you'."
Reflecting on her unexpected return to politics in 2019, she explained that frustration with Westminster had drawn her back into public life.
"I've come out of retirement because everything is so bad at Westminster," she said. "I thought, 'Right, I've got to go back in.'"
'Something of the light about her'
David Burrowes, parliamentary director of the Conservative Christian Fellowship, credits Widdecombe with inspiring him to become involved in politics.
He told Premier Christian News: "You wouldn't always agree with her, but she stood strong. She was well known for saying of Michael Howard, 'There's something of the night about him'. With Ann Widdecombe, there was something of the light about her."
"She was like your great aunt who would look out for you and look after you. She would be into the big challenges of the day, but she would always be one to look out for people. She had a real caring side to her, and she was full of love. She was full of Christ", Burrowes added.
Dan Barker, Reform Christian Fellowship vice president alongside Widdecombe, told Premier: "I was always really encouraged by her, not just for her politics, but the fact that she was she was obviously a Christian, and she wasn't shy to say so and speak up on issues of conscience and of faith, and she will be sorely missed."
Sir Stephen Timms MP, Labour minister, said she always spoke in the House of Commons "with great gusto".
"She was a fantastic character, a committed believer and that was clear in her approach in Parliament. She was somebody who has made a big impression on the country over a long period", he added.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, described Widdecombe as being "extraordinarily courageous" in speaking out about life issues. In the Commons, the former Tory MP raised concerns about the prospect of abortion 'pills by post' in the 1990s, supporting the Centre's challenges to the law when introduced post-pandemic.
