Former Conservative MP, MEP, Express columnist and prominent Brexit champion Ann Widdecombe has passed away aged 78. Her management company, Cloud9, released a statement confirming the news with "great sadness," expressing deepest condolences to her family and friends, while requesting that their privacy be respected during this difficult time.

Widdecombe served as the Conservative MP for Maidstone in Kent from 1987 to 2010 and held the role of prisons minister under John Major. Nigel Farage remembered her as a political colossus who later defected to the Brexit Party in 2019, playing a decisive role in getting the UK out of the European Union.

Tributes from close political allies flooded in following the announcement. Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice described her as an utterly fearless person to work with and an incredible orator who could hold any audience spellbound. He noted that she had spoken with him at length just days prior on Monday.

While many knew her as a formidable parliamentarian and uncompromising commentator, former colleagues noted her warm reality away from the cameras. Journalists who regularly debated her recalled that she was genuinely witty and warm in private, always demonstrating a rare, respectful ability to argue passionately without ever making disagreements personal.

Beyond politics, Widdecombe became a household name across the nation through her legendary entertainment appearances. Her management highlighted her unforgettable stint on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, where she consistently defied low judges' scores as the public delighted in her attempts to follow Anton Du Beke's choreography.