Ann Widdecombe webchat 14 June 1.30-2.30pm

Bet we're not the only ones....

AllieOxon, well said: neither am I.

Ann, I would also like to add the names of Timothy Evans and Derek Bentley to the list of hanged men who subsequently were shown not to be the murderer.
As a preventative measure the death penalty does not have much impact. My father, a defence barrister, said that many clients and cases he knew did not consider the potential penalty when committing murder. Numbers on death rows in US would also support this.

Sorry, I am NOT a fan here....

Hello Ann,
'Unsafe evidence' alone would be a good enough reason not to re-introduce the death penalty, but surely a 'life sentence' should mean 'life', and not just a few years? Is this simply an economic slant on things, because the prisons are so full? What's your view on this?
Thank you in anticipation!

An, further to the question about the death penalty, you voted for the restoration of capital punishment for terrorists. In the light of the Guildford 4 and Birmingham 6, have you changed your mind since?

Hello Ann. Due to the economic situation many families are having to make extreme cut backs and are being faced with tough choices as to how they will meet mortgage payments, feed their children and heat their homes.

Given the above how do you stand with the cost of the recent Queens Jubilee and the forthcoming Olympics?

Many thanks in advance.

I wanted to ask about your programme on Girl gangs. I just wanted to know if there was anything you noticed that could smooth the relations across boundaries like wealth, gender, age etc?

I sometimes feel like I must have things in common with people who have very different lifestyles to me, but I have difficulty working out what they might be. I always thought you did that quite well on that show.
(sorry. bit rambly...)

Hi Ann.....just wondered what you think about this Coalition Government...do you think David Cameron made a mistake by joining forces with Nick Clegg?

I'm a big fan of yours and thoroughly enjoyed watching you 'dance' on Strictly.

Hi Ann

I wondered if there was a piece of legislation that you strongly feel, during your time as an MP, should not have been put on the statute books? Why?

And of course, the other side of the coin ...was there something really close to your heart that never got passed?

Grannylin, Lovely question.

Dear Anne

What do you make of Speaker Bercow's obvious bias in H.O.P. ?

I find it very sad Scotland may be seperated from the rest of the U.K. How do you feel about loosing one of our countries from the union. Can it all end in tears or could it go smoothly?

Also, what form of exercise do you favour make yourself do, now the dancing is behind you?

Hello again Ann. Are you a lark or an owl? I find I'm neither these days. I do like my bed. Are you the same or do you spring out of bed full of the joys, etc.

Should read

Do you think your career would have been different had you married Colin Maltby?

Hello Ann,

Welcome to Gransnet.

Do you think your career would have been different had married Colin Maltby?

Hello Ann

Do you think Germany is achieving by stealth and economic pressure what it failed to do in two World Wars, ie total domination and control of Europe?

Hear, Hear! Jingle! When are they going to take action and rid Syria of this murderous regime?

And I think standing by and doing nothing is pretty well as bad as the act itself.

Ann. How long do you think it is reasonable for the world to stand by whilst children are being brutally murdered and maimed in Syria?

And how can this standing by be justified.

Yes, I know it's complicated, but you know what Jesus said - "Whosoever harmeth one of these my little ones, it is better for him that a millstone be tied around his neck and he be cast into the sea....."

Hello Ann,
Do blondes have more fun?

Hello Ann, I have rather a serious question I'm afraid. I wonder how you came to terms with having to defend in parliament, in 1996(?), the shackling (using handcuffs and chains) of pregnant prisoners until just before they gave birth or until they had received an epidural and were therefore unable to escape through paralysis of lower limbs. Anyone who has given birth will know how frightening it can be at times. If I had been chained to my bed during labour, I think I would have become hysterical. I know this still happens in the US but in Sweden it is considered a barbaric practice and now I think in the UK, it has been banned. Thanks in advance for your point of view.

Hello Ann,
Can you tell us why you feel women cannot serve as priests when they played such a big role in the early years of your religion (although their contribution has been largely ignored)?

Hello Ann,

What do you think of the way Sayeeda Warsi is suddenly being picked on re expenses?

Do you agree that it is not a coincidence that this is happening after she said the conviction of a gang of mainly ethnically Pakistani men for sex crimes against under age girls is a race matter.(The official line is that the offenses were not a racist issue - that the offenders' culture was irrelevant)

Far be it for a woman to tell an unpalatable truth, and confound an important emotional issue with facts.

Hello Ann,

Do you still advocate the death penalty? If so how do you justify that with your Christian faith?

Well done with the dancing thing btw.