In Britain, the shadow Home Secretary, Anne Widdecombe, has become the first Tory to confirm that she is considering running for the leadership of the Conservative Party. Miss Widdecombe told The Sunday Telegraph she would be taking soundings from colleagues to see if she could attract enough support to succeed William Hague who announced his resignation following the party's poor showing in the Westminster elections.
Miss Widdecombe, a Eurosceptic from the right wing of the party, said that if she became leader she would be prepared to appoint pro-Europeans such as the former chancellor, Kenneth Clarke, to serve in her shadow Cabinet.
