The suspected murder of veteran politician Ann Widdecombe is being investigated as an act of terrorism, police have said.
Counter-terror police have re-arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. He was originally taken into custody in Rotherham, South Yorkshire on Saturday evening on suspicion of murder, after Devon & Cornwall Police had previously said there was nothing to suggest the attack was terrorism-related.
Police were called to Ms Widdecombe’s property in Haytor at around 11:40am on Thursday, nearly 24 hours after she abruptly stopped responding to messages minutes before a scheduled interview.
CTP said on Monday that “new information and evidence” had come to light which meant they were now leading the investigation and would pursue multiple lines of enquiry to establish the motivation for this attack.
Here’s what we know about what happened to Ann Widdecombe:
Who is the suspect arrested?
Late on Saturday, police said a 28-year-old man had been arrested in South Yorkshire on suspicion of the murder of Ms Widdecombe.
A statement from Devon & Cornwall Police that evening said: “The suspect, who is a white British national, is now in police custody. Miss Widdecombe’s family have been informed of this development.
“We 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 we retain primacy of the investigation.”
An update on Sunday clarified that the arrest took place at an address in Rotherham, more than 200 miles away from Ms Widdecombe’s Haytor residence. They said they were not looking for anybody else at this stage.
CTP announced on Monday they had re-arrested the man in custody on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. This gives police the powers under the Terrorism Act to detain a suspect without charge for up to 14 days.
Saturday’s arrest was the second in two days, after police swooped on a 26-year-old British national in Newton Abbot, some nine miles from Ms Widdecombe’s house.
The first suspect, who was also initially arrested on suspicion of murder, was released from custody and deemed no longer part of the investigation, police said in an update early on Saturday morning.
What have police said about murder probe?
Head of National Counter Terrorism Policing Lawrence Taylor said on Monday that the incident was now being treated as an act of terrorism after Devon and Cornwall police announced they were treating the death as murder on Friday afternoon.
The counter-terror police chief said: “Building on the progress made by our colleagues in Devon and Cornwall Police, we now have new information and evidence that means Counter Terrorism Policing is now leading the investigation.“We are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry to establish the motivation for this attack.
“Our priority is progressing this investigation quickly, with all the capabilities we have available to us. If anyone has any information, please share it with the police.
“We would like to thank local communities, the wider public and the media for their ongoing support and patience, and would ask them to continue to support us in the next stage 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.
What are Ann Widdecombe’s last known movements?
Ms Widdecombe made her final public appearance in an 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, per ITV.
WhatsApp exchanges seen by the broadcaster show the last message from Ms Widdecombe came at 12:19pm, reading, “Received! Panic over!!” about a missing email.
The texts show Ms Widdecombe read a 12:19pm reply suggesting that she message again if she had any issues, but did not open a further message timestamped 12:48pm asking her to join a Zoom meeting.
Five minutes later the chat show’s producer tried to call her, followed by a delivered but unread message asking: “Hi Ann is everything okay?”
Two more voice calls went without answer at 1:05pm and 1:14pm.
How have friends and politicians reacted?
Following an announcement from CTP, home secretary Shabana Mahmood gave a statement in the Commons on Monday afternoon.
She said the suspect not known to the anti-terrorism Prevent programme.
She said: “My thoughts today remain with Ann’s family and friends, and all those who loved her.”
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.
“Ann was a distinguished politician over many, many years with many achievements, and it’s a huge, huge loss,” he told reporters at Chequers.
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”.
“Reform UK is certainly a much worse place without her. I was expecting to see her in Clacton over the course of the next few days. Sadly, that is not going to happen,” he said.
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.
“She became a real friend. She was fun. She was upbeat. She was positive. She was supportive. We had an incredible time together and we stayed firm friends.”
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.”
Who was Ann Widdecombe?
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 1992-1997 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.
She also defended a policy of shackling pregnant prisoners during child birth to prevent their escape, and viewed single mothers as poor role models, but was unusual among Conservative lawmakers in opposing the hunting of foxes with hounds.
Ms Widdecombe, who neither married nor had children, converted to Catholicism partly in protest at the Church of England’s ordination of women as priests.
After leaving parliament, she appeared on the TV talent show Strictly Come Dancing in 2010. Despite criticism from the judges, she was popular with viewers. Later she said the show’s decision to feature same-sex couples was out of keeping with its family audience.
Mr Farage said she “played a decisive role in getting Brexit over the line”.
