Men are suffering from sexism, according to Ann Widdecombe

Former Tory MP claims there is a 'lax attitude' towards ensuring parental rights of fathers

Ann Widdecombe speaking at the Henley Literary Festival (Getty)

Men are suffering from sexism, according to Ann Widdecombe.

The former Conservative MP claimed there was a “lax attitude” towards ensuring parental rights of fathers.

She also said she thought society had men "whipped” and they were "failing to resist".

“Now, everywhere you have positive discrimination. That's a way of saying negative discrimination against men… If I’m going to complain about sexism it should be from [the point of view of the male] sex not from mine,” she said at the Henley Literary Festival, according to the Telegraph.

Ms Widdecombe claimed the sexism that men suffer can be seen in the issues that arise from enforcing access arrangements in custody cases.

“In custody cases the vast percentage of custody goes to the woman and I understand that," she said.

“But when it comes to enforcing access arrangements, which have been agreed by the courts, there is a very, very lax attitude with completely absence of will to make sure that fathers… can actually can maintain their rights of access."

Ms Widdecombe, 68, who starred on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, also said mothers “deposit” their children with "minders", the Telegraph reported.

Asked about her remarks, Sisters Uncut, a feminist group, told The Independent: "The ultimate form of sexism is violence against women. Every week in the UK, two women are murdered by a partner or ex-partner.

“What's more, the Government does not give domestic violence refuges enough government funding to accommodate all the women who flee to them for safety, and are being forced to turn away two in three women.

“This is the tragic, urgent, undeniable state of sexism in the UK today and it must be acknowledged and tackled immediately before even more women's lives are stolen by abusive partners."