UK police make new arrest over killing of former politician Ann Widdecombe

A 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder over the death of former politician and reality TV contestant Ann Widdecombe, according to AP News. The suspect was arrested in South Yorkshire county in northern England, more than 200 miles from the southwest England village where Widdecombe was found dead on Thursday.

Earlier, police released a 26-year-old man arrested on Friday a few miles from the scene of the attack, saying he was no longer under investigation. The force said detectives are working "at a significant pace" to find the killer, and they don't believe there is a risk to the public.

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Widdecombe, 78, was found dead in her isolated rural home in the village of Haytor on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. Police did not disclose a cause of death, saying only that she had sustained "serious injuries".

Police believe Widdecombe was attacked at around 12:30 p.m. On Wednesday. Concerns were raised for her after she failed to appear for a scheduled TV interview on Wednesday afternoon.

The force said counterterrorism officers supported local police in carrying out Saturday's arrest, but there is "no information to suggest that this is a terrorism-related incident".

Security has been tightened for politicians after the murders of two serving members of Parliament in the past decade. Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.

Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party to which Widdecombe belonged, said staff had searched party emails to check for patterns of abuse directed at her, but had not found anything.

Speaking after leaving a wreath of flowers outside Widdecombe's home, Farage said "we can't identify, from our data, any individual" who appeared to be targeting her.

The death sent shock waves through British politics, where Widdecombe had been a prominent voice for decades, known for her robust personality and socially conservative views opposing abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ rights.

She was a lawmaker in the House of Commons as an MP from 1987 to 2010, serving in roles including prisons minister in Prime Minister John Major's 1990s Conservative government.

Widdecombe found fame after leaving Parliament as a contestant on the reality television shows "Strictly Come Dancing" and "Celebrity Big Brother".

She later joined the Brexit Party, briefly serving as a member of the European Parliament before Britain left the European Union in 2020. Most recently, she joined the anti-immigration Reform UK party, often appearing in the media as a spokesperson.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called her death "really shocking news", and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she "really struggled to find the words to say".

"It was a nasty, horrific attack and my heart is breaking for her family," Badenoch said.

Police have pieced together a timeline of Widdecombe's last movements with the help of information from television producers. She made her last television appearance on TalkTV shortly after 8am on Wednesday, and later spoke to a researcher from Channel 5's Matt Allwright show before an interview scheduled for 1pm.

Widdecombe's last message to the staff member is reported to have been sent at 12.19pm. At 12.48pm, the researcher contacted Widdecombe to request that she join a Zoom link for the show but received no response.

Channel 5 executives are understood to have contacted Widdecombe's agent after follow-up messages and calls went unanswered. Producers were understood to be concerned because it was uncharacteristic of Widdecombe, a regular panellist, not to respond.

Tributes continued to be paid to Widdecombe on Saturday. Her driver, Peter Horrell, said she was a "great lady" who was "very comical" and "down to earth".

Asked by journalists if Widdecombe had ever expressed concerns for her safety, Horrell said: "Not really, she seemed quite happy living up here by herself. You never expect it, do you? Well, I certainly didn’t."

Christine Maloney said she was shocked at her neighbour's death. "It shouldn’t have happened, it’s horrific," she said. "Everyone knows that’s her house, perhaps that’s the problem?"

Another resident, Alison Gilbert, said: "She was a nice woman, really nice woman, and she had a great sense of humour. It’s a lovely area, you talk to strangers. Everyone saw her as quite an opinionated politician, but to us she was just a person in the community."

Widdecombe's Oxford contemporary and fellow former MP Gyles Brandreth said: "We met when we were both 19 and remained friends because she was fun and kind, even when you disagreed with her fiercely."

An outspoken Catholic convert who opposed abortion and same-sex marriage, Widdecombe retired from the Commons in 2010 after serving as MP for Maidstone for 23 years.

She later appeared in the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, where she won widespread public popularity as she reached the semi-finals.

She defected to Farage's Brexit party in 2019, becoming an MEP for south-west England before the UK left the EU in 2020. She later joined its successor party, Reform, and became its immigration and justice spokesperson.

Widdecombe served in the House of Commons as an MP from 1987 to 2010 and was known for socially conservative views opposing abortion rights and expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.

She found fame after leaving Parliament as a contestant on the "Strictly Come Dancing" and "Celebrity Big Brother" reality television shows. Widdecombe's "Strictly Come Dancing" partner Anton Du Beke said he was "devastated".

Widdecombe later joined the Brexit Party and became a spokeswoman for the anti-immigration Reform UK party.

The suspect, 26, was arrested on Friday afternoon. The suspect was described by police as a British national. On Saturday morning, he was released and police said he is no longer part of the investigation.

When asked if there was evidence that Widdecombe's death was politically motivated, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would not speculate about the case.

A 28-year-old man has been arrested in South Yorkshire on suspicion of the murder of Ann Widdecombe. The suspect, who is a white British national, is now in police custody.

Police said they were supported by Counter Terrorism Policing North East and South Yorkshire Police who carried out the arrest on behalf of Devon & Cornwall Police. At this time, there is still no information to suggest that this is a terrorism-related incident and as a force, they retain primacy of the investigation.

They said Ms Widdecombe had been found at home with “serious injuries” and appealed for anybody with information that could be helpful to come forward.

Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman told reporters there was “no information” at this time to suggest the murder of Ann Widdecombe was a “politically motivated crime”. He also said the death was not being treated as a terrorist incident.

Ms Widdecombe made her final public appearance in a remote interview with TalkTV at 8am on Wednesday morning. Later that afternoon, she was in contact with a researcher from Channel 5 ahead of a planned remote appearance on the Matt Allwright show at 1pm.

After exchanging messages, the researcher received a final message from Ms Widdecombe, 40 minutes before her interview. But when the researcher messaged again 10 minutes before she was due on air, asking Ms Widdecombe to join a Zoom link, she did not reply.

They tried texting and calling again to no avail. The research team contacted her agent and followed up on Thursday.

Tributes have poured in from all sides of the political spectrum, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage describing her as “an absolute force of nature” and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch calling her a “very fun and feisty woman who spoke her mind”.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it was “a huge loss” and insisted it was important to “rise above any political differences” and focus on catching Ms Widdecombe’s killer.

Mr Farage said he was “deeply, deeply upset” by the nature of her death, and that the nation was “a much, much poorer place without her”.

Strictly Come Dancing’s Anton Du Beke has said he was “devastated” to hear that Ann Widdecombe has died. The pair were partnered together on the BBC One dancing programme in 2010.

A spokeswoman for Andy Burnham said: “Andy’s deepest condolences and thoughts are with Ann’s family today, in incredibly distressing circumstances. Ann gave a lifetime of public service, and it’s absolutely right that the police put all their resources into investigating this as swiftly as possible.”

Ms Widdecombe was well known for her bluntness and staunch socially conservative views, first as a junior minister in Conservative prime minister John Major's 1990s government and latterly as an immigration and justice spokesperson for Nigel Farage's populist Reform UK.

Throughout her political career, she argued against abortion and opposed equalising the age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual relationships.