Ann Widdecombe, the former MP, MEP and champion of Brexit, has died aged 78.
Ms Widdecombe was an outspoken backer of leaving the EU – serving as a Member of the European Parliament for the Brexit Party.
She served as a Tory MP for over two decades before leaving the Commons in 2010.
She returned to politics nearly a decade later, leaving her mark on the EU for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK precursor – and later would represent Reform as its immigration and justice spokeswoman.
The prominent Eurosceptic served in a number of cabinet positions in Conservative Governments throughout her time in Parliament as the MP for Maidstone, later Maidstone and The Weald.
From 1994 to 1995 she was the Employment Minister, next serving as the Prisons Minister from 1995 to 1997.
Ms Widdecombe also gained notoriety outside Westminster for her time on Strictly Come Dancing, where she was partnered with Anton du Beke, winning the support of viewers if not the competition itself.
