A JOURNALIST has been criticised for describing Ann Widdecombe as a "spinster" and "old maid" following her death.
A 26-year-old white British man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering former MP and MEP Ann Widdecombe.
The ex-Tory prisons minister was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor on Thursday after sustaining serious injuries.
On Friday afternoon police announced that they had opened a murder investigation.
Adam Boulton (below), formerly of Sky News and now a presenter with Times Radio, spoke to the media in the wake of the news. He focused heavily on her private life, in reference to Widdecombe never marrying or having children.
"She was very much a spinster and by the end I think you'd describe her as an old maid," he told Sky News.
"Reportedly she claimed she was a virgin.
"She had a chaste but doomed relationship with a man who is now a banker and really from that point on she was not interested in having personal relationships and very much dedicated herself to her activities."
Boulton is under fire for the comments, with critics describing them as "misogynistic".
Columnist Madeline Grant wrote on Twitter/X: "Adam Boulton talking mean-spiritedly about Ann Widdecombe in front of what looks like a picture of himself.
"He describes her – a possible murder victim – as a 'spinster', a 'battleaxe', 'a bruiser', an 'old maid', and mentions her virginity, before speculating irresponsibly about her death. Horrible, horrible stuff."
She questioned whether Boulton would have used this language for a man, adding: "The whole thing was icky and misogynistic."
Boulton defended himself, arguing that most obituaries had touched on these elements of Widdecombe's life.
He wrote: "I suggest you read the obits in the Times Guardian etc which say pretty much the same. Widders herself never « gilded » the lily and would expect nothing less."
Nadhim Zahawi, former Tory minister who is now with Reform UK, added: "I hope Adam apologises and retracts these vile remarks immediately. A colleague has been murdered, and this is how he chooses to speak about her? Awful, twisted and utterly without decency.
"His team has just called asking me to appear on his show. I won’t. And unless he apologises, I don’t think anyone else should either."
Despite Widdecombe's supporters calling out sexism against her, the politician herself was critical of feminism and argued that men were suffering from gender discrimination more than women.
In her political life, she implemented policies harmful to women, such as the infamous shackling of pregnant prisoners when they were taken for appointments.
She told the BBC in 2016 that she had rarely encountered sexism in her career. "The only problem I found as a woman MP were there were insufficient loos," she told the broadcaster.
