Ann Widdecombe, a former minister, speaks at a meeting of the British government’s environment council at Southend-on-Sea on March 1, 2022. Then Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, also attended the meeting.—Reuters/file
LONDON: British police arrested a man on Friday on suspicion of murdering Ann Widdecombe, after the 78-year-old former minister and Reform UK politician was found dead having “sustained serious injuries”.
Police said a 26-year-old, white British man had been arrested in Newton Abbot, a town about 15 kilometres from Widdecombe’s home in rural southwest England.
Assistant chief constable Matt Longman of Devon police said there was no information to suggest the murder was related to terrorism or had a political motive.
Widdecombe was well known for her socially conservative views, first as a junior minister in Conservative prime minister John Major’s 1992-1997 government and latterly as an immigration and justice spokesperson for Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK.
