Police have launched a murder investigation over the death of veteran British politician and Reform UK spokesman Ann Widdecombe, who they now say was found to have “sustained serious injuries” at her home in Devon, England.
UPDATE 1800 — Arrest Made
Devon and Cornwall police have arrested a suspect after the alleged murder of Reform UK politician Ann Widdecombe. Speaking at a press conference just now, Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said a 26-year-old “white British national” male had been arrested in Newton Abbot, a short drive from where Ann Widdecombe was found dead in her home on Dartmoor having sustained “serious injuries”.
The suspect was arrested on suspicion of murder and is being held in police custody.
The senior officer said the force “remain open minded” on what happened and why, but nevertheless said although counter-terror police had been consulted in their investigation, they are not at this time treating the slaying as either terrorism or politics related.
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Devon and Cornwall Police are conducting “extensive enquiries” over the death of 78-year-old Ann Widdecombe, a giant of the British social conservative political scene going back to the Thatcher era. Officers said there were road closures and police cordons in place around Widdecombe’s home on Dartmoor, Devon, after she was discovered at the property on Thursday morning.
In a statement, the force said Widdecombe had been “located deceased within the property. She had sustained serious injuries” and police are seeking “the person responsible who we believe to be a white male.”
A spokesman said: “Our murder enquiry is in its early stages but moving at a significant pace. We are deploying all of the necessary resources to find out exactly what has happened… I would appeal to anyone who may have information about this incident, however insignificant it may seem, to come forward and speak with us. We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the vicinity.”
Per now-normal police practice, the force told the public not to speculate on events.
British newspaper The Sun states it is believed Widdecombe was first discovered at her home by her carer and that she had suffered “a serious head wound”. An ambulance was then summoned, and the ambulance crew called police to the scene on Thursday.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he had spoken with the chief constable and stated the most important thing today is making sure the alleged killer is “arrested as quickly as possible, he’s clearly dangerous”.
Until now, there had been no suggestion that Widdecombe had died of anything but natural causes. As earlier reported when Widdecombe’s death had been announced but before the circumstances surrounding and the murder inquiry were made public, dedicated Christian Ann Widdecombe first emerged in British politics in the 1980s when she co-founded and led Women and Families for Defence. Intended to push back against left-wing pressure groups campaigning against nuclear weapons, Widdecombe then went on to be elected to Parliament as a Conservative under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and later served as a government minister.
Widdecombe was a staunch Brexiteer and known for her uncompromising socially conservative views including on homosexuality, abortion, ‘assisted suicide’, and the death penalty. She left the Conservative Party after the modernining, centrist era of Prime Minister David Cameron and joined Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party, serving as a Member of the European Parliament alongside Farage in Britain’s final year of membership of the bloc.
Moving on from the Brexit Party to Reform UK, Widdecombe was appointed justice and immigration spokesman for the Farage-led party.
This story is developing, more follows.