Ann Widdecombe

Ann Widdecombe (1947-2026) was a former Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. First elected to Parliament in Margaret Thatcher's 1987 victory, she stood down at the 2010 election. Between 1990 and 1997 she served in the government of Prime Minister John Major. After the election loss of 1997, she served as shadow Health Minister and shadow Home Secretary. She moved to the backbenches in 2001. Later, she was a Member of the European Parliament for the Brexit Party (later Reform UK) from July 2019 until the UK's withdrawal from the European Union in January 2020. She also served as Reform UK's spokesperson on Immigration and Justice from 2023 until her death in 2026.

Remarkably for a British politician, Widdecombe is a vocal Christian whose faith has often being a feature of her political life. She insisted that should the Conservative Party be elected to government again she would be unable to serve as Health Secretary since the National Health Service performs abortions. She has been a strong campaigner for family values and is a publicly-acknowledged practitioner of abstinence. When the Church of England, of which she was a member, decided to allow women to become priests, she left and joined the Catholic Church. She once boycotted British Airways in protest at the airline refusing to allow a member of staff to display a crucifix, and only returned to using the carrier when the decision was reversed.

In the 2019 European Election, Miss Widdecombe stood for the Brexit Party and was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the South West Region.

On 10 July 2026, it was reported that Widdecombe had been found dead in her home in Dartmoor, Devon. It was announced later that day that a murder investigation had been launched and a 26 year old "white British national" had been arrested. It is understood that Widdecombe had been due to appear via video link on Channel 5 in the afternoon of Wednesday 8 July, having spoken to TalkTV that morning, but stopped answering messages and missed her appearance on the show. Early the next morning, the Telegraph reported that the suspect had been released from police custody.