The former Cabinet Minister, 78, ended the previously unheard recording at 12.10pm last Wednesday. Police believe she died at around 12.30pm before being found in her kitchen of her home in Haytor, Devon, the following day11:45, 14 Jul 2026Updated 11:46, 14 Jul 2026Ann Widdecombe finished recording a newly-revealed interview defending Nigel Farage just minutes before she died, it has emerged.‌The former Cabinet Minister did the ten-minute pre-recorded interview with a Christian radio station TWR-UK, via zoom, last Wednesday. It began at 11.54am and ended at around 12.10pm - just 20 minutes before police believe she was killed. Defending the Reform UK leader, who is facing a probe by the Standards Committee over a £5million payment he received from a Thai-based crypto billionaire, Ms Widdecombe, 78, claimed he was a victim of "the politics of personal destruction".‌She 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 that face this.”‌“What Clinton once described as the politics of personal destruction. And I think that another thing is, and Nigel is going to be saying, well, don't always expect people just to writhe in your foils, they may actually turn on you. and I'm now setting the example of that and leading the way.”An excerpt of the interview, which was due to go on air last week but didn't, was played on Times Radio with permission of Ann’s family on Tuesday morning. The interviewer, broadcaster James Maidment Fullard, has now contacted police and told them about the tape, but they have not asked to see or hear the interview.‌He said: "When I spoke to her off-air, she was always incredibly kind and compassionate. And just before I pressed record on that interview that you've just heard a clip from, she asked me how my family was. And that part of her character just gave me the impression that she cared deeply about whoever it was that she was speaking to."He added: "She was robust. She was lively. She knew her topic incredibly well. And on top of all of that, she was able to express her opinion in a way that just made her really compelling to listen to. When she was live, she was a passionate interviewee."‌Asked how he felt when he heard at around 6.30am on Friday that she had died, Mr Maidment Fullard said: "I was looking at my phone when the alert came in. I just remember staring at the alert thinking that there'd been some kind of mistake. And then as the story developed and the timeline became clearer, I was just deeply saddened by it. I'm just still trying to come to terms with it all."He added: "I think what struck me over the years was how readily she engaged with us. If we asked her to comment on a story, it was rare that she would turn us down. And throughout my career, I've interviewed her on a whole range of issues.Content cannot be displayed without consent‌"But the conversations that stayed with me were ones like the persecuted church, the sanctity of life and the place of Christian conviction in public life. I always felt she was forthright and articulate on air, off air she was just as sincere, thoughtful, warm and very open as well about her faith in Jesus."And those repeated interactions always left me with a clear impression that she was not only a committed public servant, but political life was never really the thing that defined her. Her faith defined her. I'm absolutely convinced that she was ever in a position where she'd had to choose between our politics and our relationship with Jesus. She would have chosen Jesus every single time because Jesus was the anchor of her life and it shaped the way that she saw the world."‌Ms Widdecombe, a former Tory minister and lately a spokeswoman for Reform UK, was found dead in her kitchen on Thursday - 24 hours after she died at around 12.30pm having sustained serious injuries in the isolated cottage where she lived with her cat. Police believe she died in her house just 30 minutes before she was set to appear on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright show, via video call from home. She had last messaged a producer at 12.19pm, but failed to respond to a text at 12.48pm.Detectives are still today continuing to quiz a 28-year-old White British man, who cannot be named, on suspicion of Ms Widdecombe's murder, three days after arresting him at his home in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, some 270 miles from Ms Widdecombe's home in Haytor, Devon, where she was found dead last Thursday.Counter terror cops are now leading the probe after announcing they have discovered “new information and evidence”. On Monday, the suspect was re-arrested on suspicion of "commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism", Counter Terrorism Policing South East said. The man's re-arrest on suspicion of terror offences means police can now hold him without charge for up to 14 days under the Terrorism Act.Article continues belowDetectives have been examining CCTV appearing to show the man putting a wooden stick in the back of a filthy and moss-covered red Vauxhall Corsa on the day police believe Ms Widdecombe was killed. Neighbours have described him as a loner who became increasingly reclusive after the death of his dad last December.