Rose Paterson, the chair of Aintree Racecourse and wife of a former Conservative cabinet minister, has been found dead by her family home.
In a statement, Owen Paterson, the MP for North Shropshire who was a cabinet minister in David Cameron’s coalition government, said the loss of his wife, 63, had come as a “terrible shock” to the family.
“It is with great sadness that I must inform you that my wife, Rose, has been found dead at our family home in Shropshire,” he said. “Rose and I were married for 40 happy years. She was a wonderful, caring wife, mother and grandmother.
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Mr Paterson added: “Her death has come as a terrible shock to us all. I would ask the media to respect the privacy of myself and my family at this extremely difficult time.”
In response, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said Boris Johnson heard the news this morning and had written to Mr Paterson.
“Hi thoughts and every sympathy are with Owen, his children and grandchildren at this difficult time,” they added.
In a statement, West Mercia Police said: “We can confirm the body of a woman has been found in woodland near Plant Lane in Sodylt in Ellesmere. The death is currently being treated as unexplained however at this stage there is believed to be no third party involvement.”
Mrs Paterson, the daughter of the fourth Viscount Ridley, was the chairman of Aintree Racecourse. She married the Conservative MP in 1980 and had two sons and a daughter. Having been a racecourse committee director at the Randox Health Grand National since 2005, she was appointed steward of The Jockey Club in 2019.
It was claimed earlier this week that Robert Jenrick, the housing secretary, used his ministerial planning powers to recover an appeal by the organisation for a development of homes at a racecourse in Surrey. His department said “each planning appeal is taken on its own merits”.
Paying tribute, Sandy Dudgeon, the senior steward of club, said: “This is tragic news and our thoughts go out to Rose’s husband Owen and all members of her family.
“Rose was a wonderful person and involved in so many aspects of our sport. She was a skilled chairman at Aintree, a valued member of our board of stewards and headed up our horse welfare group. She also enjoyed participating at grassroots level over many years.”
“We appreciated her contribution very much and my fellow stewards and I looked forward to hearing her sound views on a subject, where she was always sensitive to the best course of action for racing. She will be missed greatly for the person she was,” Ms Dudgeon added.
