5 Apr 2021 at 17:12
I was and am proud to call Cheryl Gillan a friend. I was so sad to learn this afternoon that she had died. She had been in poor health for some time and had been devastated by the death of her beloved husband Jack Leeming at the age of 91 in 2019. She was absolutely devoted to him and cared for him lovingly in his latter years. They were a real team. He might have been older than her but they were so well matched.
I first met Cheryl in the mid 1980s when she interviewed me to be a member of the Bow Group, back in the days when it was highly respected. They didn t accept any old rif-raff! Then after she was elected we met occasionally, but it was in 2005 that our friendship blossomed. She was on David Davis s Shadow Home Affairs team and a key supporter of his in the leadership contest. She was what one call a real trooper. There were a few big egos in that team and she would delight in puncturing them. She was happy to accept any task for the team no matter how