Westminster is reeling from the news that police believe Ann Widdecombe, the former shadow Home Secretary, was murdered. She was found dead in her remote Dartmoor home on Thursday with serious injuries. As I write, police have arrested a white male suspect after a manhunt (n.b. as of 8.30 a.m. on Saturday morning, the suspect has been released from custody).
At this stage it is the done thing to urge people not to jump to conclusions, but if my WhatsApps are anything to go by, the leaping has already begun. Everything that happens in these times turns political very quickly, but is even more likely to do so when the murder victim is a former Conservative MP who had defected to Reform.
Police have arrested a white male suspect after a manhunt
Widdecombe’s death follows yet another row about the security of our politicians after Nigel Farage used his televised statement calling a by-election in Clacton to outline his anger that he does not get state-funded security. His claim that he was the most attacked MP went down badly with some others, who recall the murders of Labour’s Jo Cox and the Tory David Amess. But Reform sources responded to that backlash by saying ‘Does he need to be killed before people take this seriously?’ – and this afternoon they are pointing out that Widdecombe’s murder justifies that stance.
