Widdecombe tears a strip off Boris’s sister
SHE’S never shied away from making her views abundantly clear and on the subject of stripping off in public former MP Ann Widdecombe was typically forthright.
She was embroiled in an argument on the subject only minutes after entering the Celebrity Big Brother house.
During a game of I Have Never, shown last night on Channel5, the all-female contestants were asked if they would strip on camera – prompting reality TV star Jess Impiazzi and journalist Rachel Johnson to confess that they had.
Miss Widdecombe, 70, looked on in shock, and said she would ‘never’ do anything of the sort. Miss Johnson, 52, whose brother is Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, revealed that she had posed nude, adding: ‘I did it on my 40th birthday.’ Gesturing to Miss Widdecombe, she said: ‘Before you shake your head in despair it was to celebrate women’s... whatever.’
Miss Widdecombe replied: ‘But why does that celebrate women? You’ve got a great mind, you’ve got all those abilities.’ Miss Johnson hit back: ‘It didn’t really, but it was fun. I did it because my husband and my publisher told me don’t do it!’ Later, Miss Widdecombe was criticised by Miss Johnson during a debate over gender inequality.
After Detective Constable Maggie Oliver – who helped expose the Rochdale child sex abuse ring – said that most senior police officers are men and women struggle to get in to senior positions, Miss Widdecombe said: ‘But Cressida Dick [head of the Metropolitan Police] managed.’
Miss Johnson replied: ‘But that’s only one Ann, that’s like saying Maggie Thatcher was prime minister therefore we don’t have a problem with women’s representation in parliament.’