LBC's Iain Dale pays tribute to Ann Widdecombe, with pair once jokingly clashing on air over gay rights
Late politician once told LBC presenter off after he asked her about same sex marriage
LBC's Iain Dale has paid tribute to his friend of many years, Ann Widdecombe, with the pair having once jokingly clashed on air over her views on gay marriage.
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Iain, who is gay, spoke to the devout Catholic in 2019, prompting a jokey on-air clash between the two, with Ms Widdecombe being unmoved and unwilling to be drawn on issues that were not relevant to that year's election.
The Conservative MP, who went on to become a Member of European Parliament for the Brexit Party and latterly a spokesperson for Reform UK, was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon, on Thursday.
Police are now probing the motives for her death and have arrested a 28-year-old man.
Iain had been friends with Ms Widdecombe for 25 years.
He said about her legacy: "She was the same in private as she was in public.
"Sometimes she came across as a bit humourless, but in private she was quite hilarious and had a well-developed sense of humour, able to poke fun at herself."
Iain went on to talk about Ms Widdecombe's talent as a writer and how her fiction sold well, inspiring fellow Tory Nadine Dorries to do the same.
She also had a stint as an agony aunt in The Guardian and performed on Strictly Come Dancing.
Ahead of his 2019 LBC interview, Iain said he had been questioned on social media as to why he would speak with Ms Widdecombe when she had opposed gay marriage when it was first proposed in the Commons. Iain married his partner John Simmons in 2015.
"Any time I say anything, it is distorted and twisted... But I go further (then others)," Ms Widdecombe said.
"But if I thought half of what social media thinks I think, then you wouldn't want anything to do with me, would you?
"But somehow you do. How long have we been friends?"
Iain responded: "About 20 years."
Ms Widdecombe added: "I am not going to talk about this now because I know anything I say will be twisted, so end of. I am not going into it, and it has nothing to do with the Brexit Party.
"But if you want to give me a private interview as Ann Widdecombe, let me know, but I am here representing the Brexit Party. And anyone watching could see me rolling my eyes."