Ann Widdecombe Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Authorities in England have arrested a man in connection with the killing of right-wing British political and television personality Ann Widdecombe, after she was found dead with serious injuries at her home on Thursday.
Police said at a Friday evening news conference that a 26-year-old was apprehended in Newton Abbot, Devon. It is unlikely that the violent killing of 78-year-old Widdecombe was “a politically motivated crime,” Matt Longman, assistant chief constable at Devon and Cornwall, told the press on Friday evening. The case is not being treated as a terror attack, investigators said.
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“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,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. “Ann was a distinguished politician over many, many years with many achievements, and it’s a huge, huge loss.”
Police said that they arrived on Thursday at the home in Haytor, Devon, in southwest England, to find that Widdecombe had sustained serious injuries. The “murder enquiry is in its early stages but moving at a significant pace,” Devon and Cornwall Police said in a statement.
For two decades, Widdecombe served in Britain’s Parliament for Maidstone and The Weald, from 1987 to 2010, after spending time as a minister in the 1990s under Prime Minister John Major. She retired in 2010 but was compelled to return to British politics following the 2016 Brexit vote, which saw the U.K. narrowly vote to leave the European Union.
Widdecombe then began representing the Brexit Party as a member of the European Parliament. This lasted two years, and she still works with the party — now called Reform UK — in a spokesperson capacity.
Having ingrained herself in British politics for the first two-thirds of her career, Widdecombe started a television career in 2002 that left an indelible mark, from a stint on Celebrity Fit Club to guest hosting the news quiz show Have I Got News for You. Her wit and personality led to multiple episodes of the ITV series Ann Widdecombe Versus, in which she spoke with people about issues key to her time in office.
In 2010, she won the hearts of the British public with a run on BBC One’s competition series Strictly Come Dancing, the precursor to the U.S. series Dancing With the Stars. From there, she became a staple of British reality television, appearing on Celebrity Big Brother and the BBC series Celebrity Antiques Road Trip.
As of Friday night, British authorities had not released the name of the arrested suspect or explained a possible motive for the crime. A statement from police asked the public not to speculate about the crime on social media as they appealed for any further evidence.
“We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the vicinity of Haytor Vale, Haytor, or anyone with CCTV, doorbell or dashcam footage which could assist with our investigation,” the police statement said.
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