Ann Widdecombe

Ann Noreen Widdecombe  is a former British Conservative Party politician and has been a novelist since 2000. She is a Privy Councillor and was the Member of Parliament for Maidstone from 1987 to 1997 and for Maidstone and The Weald from 1997 to 2010. She was a social conservative and a member of the Conservative Christian Fellowship. She retired from politics at the 2010 general election. Since 2002 she has also made numerous television and radio appearances, including as a television presenter. She is a convert fromAnglicanism to Roman Catholicism.

When an MP Widdecombe was known for her strong socially conservative views, opposing the legality of abortion and supporting the re-introduction of the death penalty.