She had, it was said, ‘the glamour of a diva, the bearing of a kindergarten head – and the lip of a barmaid’.
Betty Boothroyd, who died aged 93 in February, 22 years after being ennobled as Baroness Boothroyd of Sandwell, also had an integrity utterly alien to her two immediate successors as Speaker – Michael Martin, who resigned in disgrace after claiming £1.7million in expenses, and John Bercow, found by the Independent Expert Panel to be a ‘serial liar’ and ‘serial bully’.
Betty, I can disclose, saved her best till last – her £3.7million will.
Newly published probate documents reveal that almost every penny went to charities, including Guide Dogs For the Blind, the Samaritans, Marie Curie and the Royal British Legion – plus a brace of hospices.
Integrity: Betty Boothroyd (pictured) died aged 93 in February, 22 years after becoming Baroness Boothroyd of Sandwell
Style: She had ‘the glamour of a diva, the bearing of a kindergarten head – and the lip of a barmaid’
