Ann Widdecombe was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, with police questioning a suspect held on suspicion of her murder.
Ann Widdecombe described politics as a “game of personal destruction” in what is believed to have been her final unbroadcast interview, filmed approximately 20 minutes before her death.
The former Tory minister and ex-MEP was discovered dead at her residence in Haytor on Dartmoor last Thursday, with police currently interrogating a suspect arrested on suspicion of her murder.
Detectives believe the seasoned politician was assaulted at her property at around 12.30pm on Wednesday.
At midday on Wednesday, Miss Widdecombe spoke to Christian radio station TWR for roughly 10 minutes via Zoom for a pre-recorded discussion.
She connected to the call at 11.54am, with the interview commencing at 12.01pm and concluding at 12.10pm.
Throughout the interview, the Reform UK spokeswoman backed party leader Nigel Farage over his choice to resign from his Clacton constituency and trigger a by-election, which halted Parliament’s Standards Committee’s inquiry into him to establish whether he failed to correctly declare his interests.
Miss Widdecombe said: “He probably thinks, where is this going to end? Let’s bring an end to it. Let’s bring this to a head. Let’s put it to the people to see what they think of all of this.
“There has been a game now for a very long time. A game of personal destruction, not just for Nigel, for lots and lots of politicians.”
She condemned the parliamentary register of interests as “a joke” and claimed it has “departed from its original purpose”.
The interview was never aired on TWR. Miss Widdecombe also made an appearance on TalkTV on Wednesday morning and was scheduled to feature on Channel 5 later that afternoon.
She sent a message at 12.19pm confirming she had received a Zoom link for her appearance, but subsequently failed to respond to any further attempts to reach her.
Officers were called to her home the following morning and discovered her dead inside, having suffered “serious injuries”.
Counter-terrorism police have since taken charge of the investigation into the former Conservative minister’s death following the emergence of new evidence.