The late-night presenter shared his heartache over the politician’s death.
GB News presenter said what we were all thinking following the latest Ann Widdecombe update (Image: GB News)
GB News presenter Patrick Christys sparked uproar minutes into his late-night show as he issued a fresh update following the death of Ann Widdecombe. The Reform UK politician was found dead in her Devon home last week, sparking a nationwide manhunt for her suspected killer. Earlier this week, Counter Terrorism Police took over the case and arrested a 28-year-old man from Rotherham on suspicion of preparation, commission or instigation of acts of terrorism.
On Tuesday night (July 14), detectives confirmed Miss Widdecombe’s death was a “targeted attack” and said that targeting Reform UK figures will be a “line of investigation”. It has been reported that the police investigation is also probing whether left-wing extremism or other political motives were behind the killing.
Reviewing the news, the 34-year-old presenter reflected on the police’s efforts to find Ann’s killer and the questions it had raised for him. He began: “The police have confirmed that this attack was a targeted attack. So when Nigel Farage got very angry about his daughter’s address being made public. I think he has a right to be.
“I imagine most politicians are living in fear these days. I also have questions about Shabana Mahmood’s offer to meet Nigel Farage regarding security. Given that we now know that this was a targeted attack against a Reform politician, wouldn’t it be better for the state to throw a ring of steel around Reform politicians instead of just having a meeting with them about it at some point in the future?
“Ann was a friend and a colleague and a Reform politician who appears to have been killed in a targeted attack. Surely, Reform politicians have a right to raise questions about the level of security they receive, and if they deem it to be inadequate, they have the right to pay for it themselves.”
The dad-of-one went on to criticise the police force for how they have handled the case so far. He continued: “Why were the police so keen to say three times that there was ‘nothing to indicate’ a political motive or terrorism when it appears that they hadn’t even fully searched the suspect’s house yet.
Detectives confirmed Ann Widdecombe’s death was a ‘targeted attack’ (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“Shabana Mahmood has said that the suspect was not known to Prevent. Was he previously known to police, though? How can the police realistically expect people to take them seriously when they say, and they keep saying, ‘Please don’t speculate. You might spread misinformation when the police could be accused of speculating or of giving out misinformation themselves at times.
“Finally, the big question for me is why would anyone want to go into politics right now? MPs get paid around £98,000 a year, and that is a lot of money for a lot of people, and you get expenses. But for that amount of money, you sacrifice your right to a private life, your family gets dragged into it, and you now potentially need round-the-clock security even at your home address.”
It didn’t take long for viewers to flock to social media to share their thoughts on the latest update online. One user penned: “God bless Ann, it’s so sad. I agree with you, Patrick. The media were really mean to Nigel; they have been attacking him like crazy lately. It’s insane how mean they are, shows who THEY really are.”
Another agreed: “GB News and Christys already concluded what the motive is,” as a third echoed: “The constant demonisation of Reform has caused a toxic culture with violence against individuals.”