The former South West MEP Ann Widdecombe has come under fire again, this time for 'comparing' coronavirus to the AIDS epidemic.
In a column for the Daily Express, which has since been removed, the 72-year-old politician told readers she believed the effort to prevent the spread of the virus was being taken too far.
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The former Brexit Party MEP wrote: 'I'm all for sensible precautions but I cannot help feeling that we are going mad over coronavirus'.
'We have had the scare of SARs, bird flu, Ebola and of course AIDS.
'None proved as devastating as feared and more people died of the flu than have died of coronavirus.'
She added: 'It is nasty but, given the recovery rate, it is not the Black Death.'
The HIV/AIDS epidemic, which is still ongoing, has claimed around 35 million lives since its outbreak in the 1980s, greatly affecting the LGBTQ+ community during that decade.
And today there are still 37 million people living with the condition around the world, according to the World Health Organisation.
Ms Widdecombe has a long history of making controversial and often offensive comments. Last year she prompted a huge backlash after saying "science may produce an answer" to homosexuality.
