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.
“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.
