Police arrest suspect in murder of former British minister Ann Widdecombe, who was found dead in her home | Today’s news
British police said on Saturday that a 28-year-old man had been arrested in South Yorkshire on suspicion of murdering former British cabinet minister Ann Widdecombe.
The suspect is a white British national and is now in police custody, the statement said.
Police said there was no information to suggest the 78-year-old’s murder was terrorism-related or politically motivated.
Widdecombe was found dead at her isolated country home in the village of Haytor on the edge of Dartmoor National Park on Thursday. Concerns were raised about her after she failed to appear for a scheduled television interview on Wednesday afternoon.
The former MP died on Wednesday, a day before emergency workers called police to her home, where her body was found with serious injuries, police said.
Police said they had consulted counter-terrorism police as part of their initial investigation, but were not supporting the investigation.
They also said the suspect is believed to be a white male and there is no wider risk to the public.
Who was Ann Widdecombe?
Widdecombe was known for her socially conservative views, first as a junior minister in Conservative Prime Minister John Major’s government from 1992–1997 and later as immigration and justice spokesman for Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK.
She converted to Catholicism in part in protest against the Church of England’s ordination of women as priests, and was opposed to abortion and the equalization of the age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual relationships.
She also advocated the policy of shackling pregnant prisoners during childbirth to prevent them from escaping, and considered single mothers to be bad role models, but was unusual among conservative lawmakers in opposing fox hunting with hounds.
Farage described her as “an extraordinary woman”.
“She stood up and fought for what she believed in – a devout Christian and someone with strong, socially conservative views,” Farage said in a video posted on X.
Another suspect was cleared
Police had earlier released a 26-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of Widdecombe’s murder, and said the person was no longer part of the investigation.
The freed man, a white British national, was arrested in Newton Abbot, a town about 15km from Widdecomb’s home in Haytor in rural south-west England, police said on Friday.
“Our priority remains identifying those responsible and ensuring that all available evidence is thoroughly investigated,” Devon and Cornwall Police Deputy Chief Constable Matt Longman said on Saturday, adding that the investigation was at an early stage but “moving at a significant pace”.
