Editing Ann Widdecombe (section)

===Criminal justice===
In her speech at the 2000 Conservative conference, she called for a [[zero tolerance]] policy of prosecution, with the punishment of £100 fines for users of [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]]. This was well received by rank-and-file Conservative delegates.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2000/oct/06/drugsandalcohol.conservatives2000|title=Widdecombe fights back firm|last=Watt|first=Nicholas|date=6 October 2000|work=The Guardian|access-date=22 August 2009|location=London}}</ref>

Over the years, Widdecombe has expressed her support for a reintroduction of the death penalty, which was abolished in the UK in 1965. She notably spoke of her support for its reintroduction for the worst cases of murder in the aftermath of the [[Soham murders|murder of two 10-year-old girls from Soham]], Cambridgeshire, in August 2002, arguing that in the five years up to 1970 when the death penalty was suspended, the national murder rate had more than doubled.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2204738.stm|title=Death penalty call renewed|date=21 August 2002|work=BBC News}}</ref>