Widdecombe said she did get death threats but used to ignore them and simply throw them away during the same light-hearted interview last year.
She said: “I remember I used to get death threats from time to time. We all did. and my staff would say, shall we tell the police? And I’d say, put it in the bin. Because if the IRA are going to do it, they’re not going to tell you in advance, they’re just going to do it.
“As they did with Airey Neave. You know, they just do it. So I just said, put it in the bin. And I still take that attitude. I do know that we’re in a slightly different world. I do know that. But I think it’s crucial that MPs and their constituents intermingle freely.”
Widdecombe went on to insist that no MP should ever be scared to walk around their town or be afraid in their home.
Anne said: “David Amess, who was one of the MPs who was murdered, was my best friend in Parliament. I knew him terribly well, or knew him terribly well, and his family, of course. And I know, and I said this to his widow, who agreed with me, that he would never want his death used as a reason to distance MPs from their constituents.
“His belief, and it is still my belief, that an MP should be able to walk through the town on a Saturday afternoon, talk to their constituents. Absolutely. So I feel very strongly about that. In my day, it wasn’t fundamentalist Islam. In my day, it was the IRA. And I suppose I had a slightly faithless attitude.”
David Amess, a former Tory MP, was murdered(Image: PA)
