Widdecombe Challenges Howard - Disown or Substantiate
Ann Widdecombe has challenged her former boss Michael Howard to "disown or substantiate" statements she alleges were made by his camp to the press.
She was responding to newspaper reports suggesting that the former Director General of the Prison Service, Derek Lewis, had "wooed" her with chocolates, flowers and dinner. Miss Widdecombe was Prisons Minister under Mr Howard when he was Home Secretary. She says the source of the stories was Mr Howard's supporters.
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Newspaper reports
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I should have resigned
Miss Widdecombe says that the only flowers to be sent anywhere at the time Mr Lewis was sacked in 1995 were the ones she sent to Mr Lewis's wife. For this Miss Widdecombe says she was "severely reprimanded" by Michael Howard.
She says that she had grave reservations about the handling of the sacking of Derek Lewis, and it was only loyalty to John Major that stopped her from quitting. Today she said " I think I should have resigned. I considered it very carefully at the time"
She also says no friend of hers would send her chocolates, because "..they all think I'm too round", and that "the only time we had dinner together was several months after Mr Lewis had been dismissed".
She has called on Mr Howard to respond to the stories, saying "I challenge Mr Howard - Disown the statements of your camp, or substantiate them".
The newspaper article focusses on the personal animosity between the senior Tories. She wants to make a personal statement to the house to make public her criticisms of Mr Howard's decision to sack Mr Lewis after four prisoners escaped from Parkhurst prison.
Mr Howard has categorically denied having anything to do with today's newspaper stories. He said he had to overrule her to sack Mr Lewis, but stands by his decision to do so.
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Lewis: Criticism of Howard
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Howard "Flawed"
Tonight, former prison service director Derek Lewis added to the controversy by branding Mr Howard a flawed politician concerned excessively with his own career. He added that he thought his sacking was prompted by Mr Howard's concern about his own position at the time. " The principal reason for the decision he took was his own political security" said Mr Lewis
Miss Widdecombe insists all this has nothing to do with the Conservative leadership election. She is, for the moment, supporting Peter Lilley in his bid to be Conservative Leader. But Mr Lilley has rejected her support and said "I am not prepared to have as a member of my team anybody who publicly
criticises a fellow candidate"
"I do not think it right for anybody in the course of this campaign to
indulge in personal criticism of candidates...If they have disagreements with candidates ...the right way to do that is to go to the leader of the party and seek to resolve those differences directly with him in private," said the former Social Secretary.
In response Miss Widdecombe has said "I will withdraw my support from Mr Lilley if he is embarrassed by my actions". But she said she would not reveal who would then gain from her support.
Miss Widdecombe had serious disagreements with the former Home Secretary over his sacking of prison service director Derek Lewis in 1995 and recently accused Mr Howard of having "something of the night" in his personality.
The allegations refer to a debate in the House of Commons in 1995, after an escape from Parkhurst Prison. Mr Howard insisted during the debate that he had not taken the final decision to suspend Sir John Marriott, the then governor. Mr Howard said at the time that the full operational responsibility for the decision had been taken by Mr Lewis.
Although Miss Widdecombe hasn't made clear what she wishes to declare to the Commons, she says she's not trying to drag the drama out. "It is not my way to string these things out,... I will consult the Speaker of the House, and then decide what to do next."
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