Death of Ann Widdecombe

Lord Evans of Weardale Excerpts

Tuesday 14th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I am grateful to my noble friend; I do not disagree with any word she said. Increasingly, threats and views are delivered in an online way. That online way has increased the toxicity of the debate we have in the public forum. We need to ensure that we examine that. Legislation is currently available to look at the online space and how it is managed.

I come back to the main point, which I want to re-emphasise for all noble Lords: there has been a vicious murder. We do not know the motivation for that murder yet, and speculation and the discussion today have strayed into potential political aspects. We do not yet know the causes of that murder. We will have proper investigation and I hope that charges will at some point be made against somebody for that murder and that they will be held to account in the courts. We can then examine whether there are lessons to be learned, whatever happened with the murder of our colleague Ann Widdecombe.

[Lord Evans of Weardale (CB)]

My Lords, I offer my condolences to the family and friends of Ann Widdecombe. I have felt for many years that the Government underinvest in the protection of those in public life who face potential terrorist threats. I realise that there has been considerable progress in recent years, both on resourcing and co-ordination of support to those at potential risk, but would the Minister agree that although it is very important that there should be an assessment of the threats that individuals face, in reality that is merely informed guesswork in most cases? There is no specific intelligence. Therefore, if we opt not to take action, we expose ourselves to very considerable risk. We see the implications of that for our public life more widely. Therefore, the default should be to act, rather than to dismiss threats on the basis of their assessment.

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

The noble Lord speaks with great authority about the type of threat that many elected politicians and Members of this House may face, and I bow to his experience and knowledge. We keep this under review at all times; in fact, following the murder of Sir David Amess, my right honourable friend the Home Secretary commissioned Robert Buckland, a former Conservative Justice Secretary, to examine the security arrangements for Members of Parliament and others. We expect him to report as soon as possible. It is extremely important that we keep ourselves safe, for the very reasons the noble Lord mentioned: a Member of Parliament represents 70,000, 80,000 or 90,000 people in their constituency. They are sent here by the population to do a job; they should not face threats in doing that job. They should face political discussion and debate, but should not be intimidated or face intimidation in undertaking that role.