Man being questioned in Widdecombe murder investigation

A 26-year-old man is in custody for questioning by UK police after he was arrested on suspicion of murdering former MP and MEP Ann Widdecombe.

The ex-Conservative Party prisons minister was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor on Thursday after sustaining serious injuries.

Ms Widdecombe, who was 78, later became a Brexit Party MEP and subsequently a Reform UK spokesperson.

She also found fame outside politics after starring in Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.

The case of her death is "not being treated as terrorism" and there is "no information" at this time to suggest it was a "politically-motivated crime", Devon and Cornwall Police said.

The police force's Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said the white British suspect was arrested at an address in Newton Abbot yesterday.

British Police said they are remaining "open-minded" about the motive for the attack, adding it was too early to comment on whether the suspect was known to Ms Widdecombe.

In a statement on social media, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the former MP and MEP’s death, and subsequent police murder investigation, was a "terrible reflection on modern Britain".

In a video statement published on social media, he added: "And I do fear that for anybody in public life, or especially the political space, things have become even more dangerous today."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged people to come together across political divides following the murder.

Mr Starmer said he had spoken to his likely successor Andy Burnham, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Mr Farage to "urge everybody to come together at a moment like this".

Ms Badenoch said she "really struggled to find the words to say" following Ms Widdecombe’s death.

She said: "I don’t understand how someone could do something so horrific to an elderly person.

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

Ms Widdecombe was a Conservative MP between 1987 and 2010 for the Kent constituency of Maidstone, later Maidstone and the Weald.

She held several ministerial positions in John Major’s government.

In her post-Commons career, she appeared on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, partnered with Anton du Beke, and survived until the competition’s semi-finals thanks to the public vote.

She became a member of Mr Farage’s Brexit Party from 2019 and served as an MEP representing South West England in Brussels between 2019 and 2020.

She later became immigration and justice spokesperson for Mr Farage’s Reform UK and remained active in the media.

She appeared on TalkTV on Wednesday, which is the day before she was found dead.

Ms Widdecombe was also due to be a guest on Channel 5’s Matt Alright show on Wednesday afternoon, but did not appear - as first reported by ITV.

She had exchanged messages with a researcher from the show, but did not respond when they tried to contact her to join a Zoom call from home.

ITV said calls and texts sent after the programme aired remained unanswered and the Channel 5 show’s team followed up with her agent later on Wednesday and on Thursday.