A 26-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder of former MP Ann Widdecombe, following a large-scale manhunt for a white male.
Devon and Cornwall Police launched a murder investigation into the death of Miss Widdecombe, who was discovered deceased at her home in Haytor, Dartmoor, near Newton Abbot in Devon at 11:40am on Thursday (July 9).
At an afternoon press conference, Devon and Cornwall Police Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman confirmed that Miss Widdecombe’s death is not being treated as terror-related. Officers confirmed the suspect is British, reports the Daily Star.
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Miss Widdecombe, who had appeared on Talk radio on Wednesday (July 8), was found to have sustained “serious injuries”. Police also confirmed that a manhunt had been launched for a white male believed to be responsible for her death.
Devon and Cornwall Police Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman speaking at a press conference(Image: BBC)
Speaking at the press conference, Assistant Chief Constable Longman said: “A 26-year-old man was arrested in Newton Abbot this afternoon on suspicion of the murder of Ann Widdecombe. The suspect, who is a white British national, remains in police custody while inquiries continue.”
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman further confirmed that Miss Widdecombe’s death was not being treated as a terrorist incident.
He added: “Detectives from the force major crime investigation team have launched a murder investigation, and are conducting extensive inquiries into the circumstances surrounding Ms Widdecombe’s death.
“While we work closely with our partners and consulted counter-terrorism policing as part of our initial inquiries, the incident is not being treated as terrorism.
“A cordon remains in place at the property, while specialist officers continue forensic examinations. There are road closures in place around the scene, and the public will see significant police activity in the area while detectives and other officers continue house-to-house and CCTV inquiries.
Ann Widdecombe’s secluded home – which she bought in 2008 – is now the scene of a frantic murder probe(Image: Sky News)
“This is an extremely tragic incident. Our thoughts are very much with the family and friends of Miss Widdicombe in this very difficult time.”
The former Conservative minister, aged 78, later served as a Brexit Party MEP before becoming a Reform UK spokeswoman, and also gained recognition beyond politics through her appearance on Strictly Come Dancing. Numerous tributes were paid to her earlier today before officers confirmed their murder inquiry.
Speaking to journalists at Chequers, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer addressed the news of the investigation for the first time. He said: “This is really shocking news, and my thoughts, I think all of our thoughts, will be with the family and friends of Ann Widdecombe at this awful time for them.
“Ann was a distinguished politician over many, many years with many achievements, and it’s a huge, huge loss.
“I’ve spoken to the chief constable this afternoon about the details and I think this is really important that this is a moment where we rise above any political differences, the political divide and say the single most important thing at the moment is that all of us and the public help the police identify the individual suspected and make sure he’s arrested as quickly as possible.
(Image: William Dax / SWNS)
“He’s clearly dangerous, and I implore everybody who’s got any information in relation to him to help the police with their inquiries, get him into police custody.”
Potential future Labour Leader and next PM Andy Burnham has also paid tribute following the death of Miss Widdecombe, through a spokesperson. A spokeswoman for 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.”
Miss Widdecombe’s management company Cloud 9 called on anyone with information to come forward, stating: “We are absolutely devastated by this news following a very traumatic and upsetting 24 hours.”
The statement added: “We are absolutely devastated by this news following a very traumatic and upsetting 24 hours.”
“We fully support the police in their investigations and we reiterate the family’s desire not to be contacted at this difficult time. We implore anyone who may have relevant information to contact Devon and Cornwall Police.”
Devon and Cornwall Police have established a Major Incident Public Portal [MIPP] for information, images or footage to be submitted to them. You can also get in touch by phone on 101 or through their website, quoting reference 50260179119 and Operation Hunlen.
You can follow the link to the public portal here.
Information can also be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org..