The Pope himself was poised to welcome her to the Vatican, while staff at the British Embassy had polished the candelabra in readiness for the arrival of a single-minded former Tory minister with strong views and little in the way of immediate family.But Ann Widdecombe will not, after all, be packing her black mantilla and taking up her post as Her Majesty’s ambassador to the Holy See.
For I learn the unmarried 62-year-old has been obliged to decline the plum job in Rome for health reasons.
Miss Widdecombe has suffered a detached retina and required emergency surgery to save the sight in her left eye.
The ex-MP went under the knife near her new home in Kent, but will not know for ten days if the operation has been a success. In the meantime, she has been advised to lie on her right side and move her head as little as she can.
She tells me: ‘I can answer the phone, but am lying here making as little movement as possible. It was very sudden, as detached retinas always are. I don’t know what caused it, but am hoping to save the sight in my left eye.’
Miss Widdecombe, who stood down from Parliament at the General Election, became a Roman Catholic in 1993. She was one of the first converts of celebrity priest Father Michael Seed, who later gave Communion to Tony Blair at Downing Street.
She was seen by Prime Minister David Cameron as just the person to repair relations with the Vatican after the damaging Foreign Office memo which suggested the Pope could open an abortion clinic during his visit in the autumn.
It had been indicated that Miss Widdecombe — who is fluent in Latin, the official language of the Vatican — would have been at her ambassadorial post in the run-up to the visit.
However, the doughty Miss Widdecombe tells me: ‘I won’t be taking up the position, but the offer was definitely on the table. I don’t know how long it will take to fully recover from this setback.’
By remaining in the UK, she is likely to trigger speculation that Mr Cameron will instead elevate her to the House of Lords.
It may also allow her to consider another offer — taking part in the next series of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, which she calls ‘mere speculation and rumour’.
SIC: DMUK