University of Aberdeen is “looking into” comments made by an employee who said she hoped former MP Ann Widdecombe suffered “an extremely painful death“.
Heather Herbert, a web developer at the university, faced backlash after making the comments on Friday July 10 following news of Widdecombe’s death.
Herbert responded to a news report of her passing on her Bluesky account, writing: “Some good news for once.
“I hope it was an extremely painful death.”
She added: “I hope she was handcuffed to the bed as she screamed in agony.”
The posts were made before police announced they were treating Widdecombe’s death as murder.
Principal of the university Pete Edwards, personally responded to the comments saying: “Ann Widdecombe was a highly respected figure both in the Westminster and European parliaments.”
“The University of Aberdeen does not tolerate violence or hateful behaviour in any form. We are aware of the incident and the concerns that have been raised and are looking into the matter as a priority.”
The Gaudie student newspaper contacted Herbert following the posts.
She replied: “I don’t want to see anyone murdered, but I’m still glad she is dead.”
“I’m not a hypocrite. I posted that before the murder investigation was launched,” she continued.
“I’m a nobody. I have no power to do anything. Ann Widdecombe was able to and made the lives of ordinary people hell.”
She also added: “Nobody appears to care – I also celebrated the death of the leader of Iran.”
A university spokesperson said: “We are aware of the comments being referred to online and are looking into the matter.”
Backlash to ‘awful’ social media post by Aberdeen University employee
The post was widely shared on social media, prompting dozens of comments on the university’s Facebook page calling for disciplinary action.
Many called for Herbert’s dismissal and said they had complained to the university about the post.
One commenter branded the remarks “sick”.
Similar criticism was directed at the original post.
One user wrote to Herbert: “I was never a fan of the woman and I certainly didn’t agree with her politics, but saying that about a fellow human is awful. There’s enough hatred in this world.”
In response, Herbert wrote: “I’m done with being nice to pieces of human garbage like her.”
A University of Aberdeen spokesperson said:
Police investigation continues into Ann Widdecombe’s death
Ann Widdecombe was reported dead at the age of 79 on Thursday.
Devon and Cornwall Police said Widdecombe was found at her home with severe head injuries.
Her death is being treated as murder.
On Friday, police announced they had arrested and later released a man in connection with the incident. He has since been released and is no longer understood to be a suspect.
Police are carrying out door-to-door inquiries and reviewing CCTV footage.
Widdecombe was a long-serving Conservative MP known for her opposition to same-sex marriage, abortion and increased immigration.
She later became an outspoken advocate of Reform UK’s immigration policies.
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