Dame Prue Leith has voiced deep concern for the safety of her son, Reform UK MP Danny Kruger, in the wake of the murder of Ann Widdecombe, the 78-year-old Reform spokeswoman found dead at her home in Haytor, Dartmoor, on Thursday morning after sustaining serious injuries. A 28-year-old white British man remains under arrest on suspicion of terrorism and murder, with counter-terrorism police leading the investigation, which they have described as a ‘targeted attack’.
Prue Leith’s fears for her son
The 86-year-old Great British Bake Off judge, speaking to Times Radio, admitted she has been worrying about her son’s safety but has not yet contacted him about it. ‘I haven’t even rung him up about it because I don’t want him having to add to the worry the fact that his mother is worrying,’ she said. She added that while she trusts the government to protect MPs, the situation is ‘scary’ and ‘seems so amazing that this should be happening in the UK, which I’ve always thought of as the most civilised country about politics. It’s always been a proper country. You don’t reach for the gun when you don’t agree with somebody; you debate it and you vote on it.’
Political climate and family discussions
Leith noted that she and her son, who defected from the Conservative Party to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK last year, often discuss politics and disagree civilly. ‘We do talk a lot about politics and I don’t always agree with Danny on politics but one of the great things is we don’t mind disagreeing, it’s all perfectly civilised,’ she said. Her remarks come as Prime Minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham called for a ‘serious review’ of MPs’ security following Widdecombe’s death, suggesting protections may need to be ‘increased further’.
Broader concerns about political toxicity
Burnham, the Makerfield MP, told reporters in Parliament: ‘Politics has darkened in the last decade; there’s no getting away from that. It’s obviously appalling what happened to Ann. I knew Ann over many years in the House, and you know, we would get along – and everybody would get along. But it feels as though something has changed. It’s easy to blame social media, but it feels like it’s having some impact in just building that kind of toxicity that’s around the political debate.’
The murder has sent shockwaves through the political establishment, with tributes pouring in for Widdecombe, a former Conservative MP and cabinet minister who later became a prominent Reform UK figure. The investigation continues as authorities work to determine the motive behind the attack.
