Original sentence: His reputation was dented on 13 May 1997 when a critical inquiry into a series of prison escapes was published.Melanie Phillips felt there was a hint of anti-semitism about the remark.Six days after the Derek Lewis incident on Newsnight, Ann Widdecombe, his former minister of state in the Home Office, made a statement in the House of Commons about the dismissal of then director of the Prison Service, Derek Lewis, and famously remarked of Howard that "there is something of the night about him", a widely quoted comment that may have contributed to the failure of his 1997 bid for the Conservative Party leadership
Edited sentence: His reputation was destroyed on 13 May 1997 when a critical inquiry into a series of prison escapes was published.Howard´s repeated evasions did serious harm to his political standing, leaving a lasting impression of his basic dishonesty.Melanie Phillips, in an attempt to spin this comment, felt there was a hint of anti-semitism about the remark, a ludicrous statement considering it´s source.Six days after the Derek Lewis incident on Newsnight, Ann Widdecombe, his former minister of state in the Home Office, made a statement in the House of Commons about the dismissal of then director of the Prison Service, Derek Lewis, and famously remarked of Howard that "there is something of the night about him", a widely quoted comment that endorsed the general public´s impression of him and certainly ontributed to the failure of his 1997 bid for the Conservative Party leadership