Police investigating death of Ann Widdicombe

[GoodHonest]

Very strange

🙄

Ukraine voted in a chap from a popular TV show - Zelensky has done rather well in the interim it seems.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy

Who has confirmed that Farage turned down armed protection?

The reports I have read state - 'a trained driver, car, and bodyguard' but not indicated whether the bodyguard would be armed or not.

This article published by the Telegraph last month suggests the offer may have been for an unarmed bodyguard;

Bodyguards for senior Cabinet ministers have been working without security clearance, according to a leaked letter...

The Home Office has a contract with Mitie, the outsourcing firm, to provide bodyguards for ministers and MPs who are deemed to be at a high risk of attack.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/06/07/bodyguards-to-cabinet-working-without-security-clearance/

Here, found it for you.
His claims were debunked. He was offered the same level of security as Badenoch and she has armed security so yes, he turned down armed security.

inews.co.uk/news/politics/reform-and-farages-claims-about-their-security-fact-checked-4644484?srsltid=AfmBOop2W6Ft0n58BCfk9QHJ8kRRihmvq2spJ5ZxNYaDP8Ogtgg8soh2

I just find it really strange that you're so willing to die on this hill that Farage is making up the risks to his security.

You clearly hate him - why's it so hard to imagine that others do too?

In fact, a link from your link states;

^'The i Paper has learned he was offered a taxpayer-funded bodyguard, car and
trained driver supplied by private contractors.'^

'Supplied by private contractors' - which suggests not armed.

'The source said: “My understanding is he demanded something akin to what the Home Secretary gets and was denied it and therefore can claim that he was denied proper protection.”

Elsewhere, ITV stated;

'As expected, the prime minister, home secretary and defence secretary are all given state-funded protection and armed bodyguards.'

One assumes then, that Kemi Badenoch/Leader of the Opposition does not have armed protection as a matter of course, perhaps only for high-profile events?

Yes, that is what I said, totally different politics though, do you think the people of Clacton are really going to bin Nigel after what has happened to AW, or even before as they support his politics over the other main parties?

So many people are willing to go through any mental gymnastics that says Farage = Bad, they just tie themselves in knots and disconnect from political reality.

You seem to be making up... that people are saying Farage is making up... that there are risks to his security.

Has anyone actually done that?

Or is this just the latest swivel to distract from the fact that Farage didn't declare a £5 million donation from a bloke in Thailand and then offered multiple competing explanations for why he got it.

And because of the strange and unnecessary drama he created around the 5 million quid people are now asking more questions. Like why did he turn down state-funded security which was offered?

The problem that there are genuine risks to MPs and ex-MPs, Farage included, seems to be agreed on by just about everyone.

This makes it sound uncomfortably like you're hoping to exploit the murder of Ann Widdecombe for Nigel Farage's personal political career.

I hope that isn't true.

Maybe you've just come across badly. But that's what it sounded like.

How do you see the "exploitation" taking shape, how would that work?

God, I still can't type "the murder of Ann Widdecombe" without feeling like I've fallen into a parallel universe.

It's still surreal. She was just such a huge figure in public life, political and otherwise. I'm still struggling to get used to it.

A "huge figure" in public life, hardly, the average drone running around with their face glued to a phone will hardly register who she is, back in the 1980"s maybe, yes.

The totality of Ann Widdecombe's presence in public life, over my lifetime (which is not short), was indeed huge.

But if you hardly register who she was, then sure, your experience of that is your experience.

I feel really sad about it. And angry.

Oh.

Oh dear.

That was your chance to disclaim it.

Apparently not.

I only got to the UK in 2000 and I agree she was a huge presence. I loved her on HIGNFY and remember her on celeb big brother.

How do you see your idea working, can you explain in practical terms?

I know who she was, the average celebrity obsessed phone addict is not particularly interested probably, so for a couple of generations she is not really a "huge public figure"?

She may be little known to anyone who has spent their life under a rock - or in another country - but even outside the political arena she has made many TV appearances in the past couple of decades. Even before Strictly she had her own series offering tough love and humiliation to people in straitened circumstances. She is anything but unknown.

But still, you insisted that Farage is insignificant and that you're just on threads about him for "balance" .

Yes, but those shows have not been at the forefront of public consciousness for at least a couple of decades?

"But still, you insisted that Farage is insignificant and that you're just on threads about him for "balance" "

Can you quote the thread where I said that.

I didn"t say she was "unknown", I said she was not a "huge public figure" for large numbers of especially young people, thousands of people have made multiple TV appearances, she was a working commentator and TV personality, I have relatives who have made multiple TV appearances, they are not famous.

Her big brother appearance was far more recent than that.

Oh I grew up with her as part of British politics, be it party politics or general.

Often the attention I paid her was to vehemently disagree with her! Eg as a cradle Catholic myself, I wasn't impressed when she and others who had apparently been perfectly happy in the CofE suddenly converted to RC to avoid women priests.

But she was impossible to ignore. She was part of my intellectual life whether I wanted her to be or not. And I suppose still is, since here I am talking about her.