Image source, Getty Images/ BBCCounter terrorism police are now leading the investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe after “new information and evidence” came to light, officers have said.
A 28-year-old white British man from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, originally arrested on suspicion of murder on Saturday, has now been re-arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed the suspect was not known to the government’s Prevent anti-terror scheme.
Widdecombe, a 78-year-old former Conservative minister turned Reform UK spokeswoman, was found dead at her home in Devon on Thursday, having sustained serious injuries.
Image source, PA MediaHer death sparked a manhunt resulting in the suspect’s arrest at about 21:00 on Saturday.
Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) said new information had “come to light during what has been a dynamic and complex investigation”.
National Counter Terrorism Policing head Laurence Taylor said the new arrest builds on “progress made by our colleagues in Devon and Cornwall Police”, and that they were working to establish a motivation for the 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,” he added.
The announcement comes after the suspect in the investigation was seen in CCTV footage appearing to get into a car in Yorkshire, hours before the former Conservative ministeris thought to have been attacked in her home in Devon.
The man, dressed in a white shirt and shorts, can be seen getting into a red vehicle outside a house in Rotherham with a long object appearing to protrude from his shorts pocket, in footage time-stamped at 07:51 on Wednesday, first reported by the Sun., external
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The distance between Widdecombe’s home and Rotherham, where the 28-year-old was arrested, is about 270 miles (430km) – about a four-and-a-half-hour drive.
At least two police vehicles were seen parked outside a property in Rotherham believed to be connected to the investigation on Sunday, which was cordoned off while officers and forensic teams worked at the scene.
Speaking to BBC News on the same day, one neighbour said: “I was making some food in the kitchen and looked out the window, there was loads of banging, and there was armed police in the pathway and they just went into the house and pulled [the suspect] out.”
Another neighbour said police took a red car off the drive.
In her statement to MPs on Monday afternoon, Mahmood also paid tribute to Widdecombe as “forthright and fearless” and as someone who “thought seriously about ideas but she did not take herself too seriously”.
She said her death raised questions about the security of those in public life, and that police intend to issue guidance to MPs on safety soon.
Mahmood added she had recently commissioned former Lord Chancellor Sir Robert Buckland to review the lessons learned from the murder of Conservative MP Sir David Amess in 2021 regarding security for MPs.
She acknowledged Widdecombe’s death would be a “particular concern” for Reform UK and its leader Nigel Farage, and said she has offered him a meeting with the chair of Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) – the public body responsible for managing the security of those in public life.
Posting on X, Farage thanked Mahmood for the offer and said he would meet with Ravec’s chair to “discuss the security of all Reform politicians, including those who are not MPs”.
Also speaking in the Commons, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp described Widdecombe as a public figure who was “always formidable, always charming, always entertaining”, while Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice said she was “a colossus” in public and political life and that whenever she called him, he “always stood up on my toes”.
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On Sunday, Devon and Cornwall Police had said there was “nothing to suggest” the murder was politically motivated.
Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Matt Longman had said officers remained “open-minded” about a potential motive and that there was not thought to be any threat to the wider public.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s PM programme, Jonathan Hall KC, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said he was “slightly surprised” the force guided the public away from the idea of there being a potential political element.
He said: “I don’t know why it appears Devon and Cornwall police were trying to steer away from the idea of terrorism even once they’d discounted the idea of some local burglary that had gone wrong, and I simply can’t explain that.”
Hall acknowledged that although this was a live investigation, police needed to be “really thoughtful” in releasing information in the social media era, and that police communications can improve.
“It’s much better to be simply open-minded and say to the public something that’s, you know, true – ‘We don’t know what’s going on’ – rather than appearing to rule something out and then having to reverse their position when new facts emerge,” he said.
Devon and Cornwall Police said it believed Widdecombe was attacked on Wednesday at about 12:30 and had since received more than 120 reports of information after making a public appeal.
Over the coming weeks there would remain a “heightened” police presence in the local area, ACC Longman added.
Widdecombe served as the Conservative MP for Maidstone for 23 years, holding ministerial roles in Sir John Major’s government between 1994 and 1997.
Following her departure from the Commons in 2010, Widdecombe appeared on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing that year, and was a runner-up on Celebrity Big Brother eight years later.
She joined the Brexit Party in 2019, where she represented South West England as its MEP from 2019 to 2020.
On Sunday, about 40 mourners gathered in Haytor Vale to pay tribute to Widdecombe, including senior Reform figures.
Tice said he had spoken to Widdecombe last Monday and he “nearly fell over with shock and horror” when he heard of her death.
“We have lost an absolute colossus, a legend in all our lifetime,” he told the crowd.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also paid tribute to Widdecombe last week, describing her death as a “significant loss” as he called on people to “rise above” political differences.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described Widdecombe as a “very fun and feisty woman”, adding her “heart is breaking for [Widdecombe’s] family”.
Farage, who visited Dartmoor to pay his respects to Widdecombe, described her as a “remarkable individual” and “the fiercest defender of free speech”.
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