Ann Noreen Widdecombe

"Only two sorts of people oppose free speech... snowflakes and totalitarians."

"Nobody has the right to live their lives being protected from offence, or from insult, or from hurt feelings."

"It is an occupational hazard of living in society. And if you really can't take it, become a hermit."

"No matter how much we may disagree with somebody, we should defend to the hilt their right to say it."

"You succeed by defeating your opponent, not by wishing him away. You get nowhere by trying not to hear what is being said."

"You may feel virtuous today in what you will not hear, but tomorrow somebody may feel virtuous in not hearing what you have to say."

"Free speech is for all, not for the privileged few."

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Ann Noreen Widdecombe was a British politician and television personality. As a member of the Conservative Party, she was the member of Parliament (MP) for Maidstone and The Weald and its predecessor Maidstone constituency from 1987 to 2010. She joined Reform UK (then called the Brexit Party) in 2019. She was their member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England from 2019 to 2020, and served as immigration and justice spokesperson from 2023 until her death.

Born in Bath, Somerset, Widdecombe read Latin at the University of Birmingham, then Philosophy, politics and economics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. A convert from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism, she was a member of the Conservative Christian Fellowship. She served as Minister of State for Employment from 1994 to 1995, and Minister of State for Prisons from 1995 to 1997. Under William Hague, she sat in the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Health from 1998 to 1999, and Shadow Home Secretary from 1999 to 2001. She was appointed to the Privy Council in 1997.

Widdecombe stood down from the House of Commons at the 2010 general election. From 2002 she made numerous television and radio appearances, including as a presenter. She competed in the eighth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, and was runner-up in the twenty-first series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2018. A prominent Eurosceptic, she supported the Vote Leave campaign during the 2016 referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union (EU). She returned to politics as the Brexit Party's lead candidate in South West England at the 2019 European Parliament election, winning a seat in line with national results and serving until the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. At the December 2019 general election, she contested Plymouth Sutton and Devonport for the Brexit Party, finishing third and retaining her deposit.

Ideologically, Widdecombe identified as a social conservative and emphasised traditional values. During her time in the House of Commons, she opposed the legality of abortion, opposed granting LGBT people legal rights such as equalisation of the age of consent, and opposed the repeal of Section 28. She supported the reintroduction of the death penalty for murder, and opposed all forms of assisted dying. She supported rigorous animal protection laws and opposed fox hunting.

Widdecombe was found dead at her home on Dartmoor, Devon, on 9 July 2026, aged 78. Devon and Cornwall Police launched a murder investigation, which was taken over by counter-terrorism police on 13 July, following the arrest of a suspect. Police believe Widdecombe was attacked on 8 July.