Baroness Elspeth Howe dies aged 90

Tributes have been paid to Lady Howe, who has died aged 90.

Baroness Elspeth Howe of Idlicote, wife of Sir Geoffrey, died on 22 March at her Warwickshire home after a "brave battle with cancer", her family said.

Said to have inspired her husband's resignation speech from the Thatcher government, she was also a crossbench peer and sat in the House of Lords.

She was a relative of The Duchess of Cornwall who said it was "a sad time for all the family".

"She will be missed intensely," added the family in a statement.

Playwright and broadcaster Jonathan Maitland, who wrote the play Dead Sheep which focussed on Geoffrey Howe's 1990 speech, said she was an "amazing and formidable woman".

Mr Maitland said although she gave her husband the "moral courage" to make his resignation speech, she should not be seen only in her husband's shadow, as she had a career in her own right.

She worked as deputy chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission from 1975 to 1979 and later became chair of the Broadcasting Standards Commission.

Lady Howe retired from politics in 2020 after she served as a life peer and crossbench member of the House of Lords.

In 1993, The Independent newspaper did a profile on her, where she was branded a "Tory feminist".

At the time, her friend Alistair Sampson told the newspaper: "She isn't easily shockable but she does insist on standards. She's not a Mary Whitehouse figure. And she's a feminist - but not a tiresome feminist."

Later on in life, her work included questioning the government on the protection of children from issues such as internet pornography, gambling, and inappropriate content on the television and radio.

Her family's statement added how they were "immensely proud of her many achievements, especially her championing of the causes close to her heart which she supported so effectively during her remarkable lifetime."

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