Ann Widdecombe was the victim of a ‘targeted attack’, the Head of Counter Terrorism Policing has said.Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said police are still looking into any ‘motivation’ behind the 78-year-old’s death.Police believe she was killed in her remote Dartmoor home on Wednesday lunchtime.A 28-year-old remains in custody.Mr Taylor said this afternoon: 'It is clear that this was a targeted attack.'We are still working to understand the extent of any planning or preparation, and the motivation that sits behind that attack.'I don’t want to comment further on that motivation or preparation at this stage of our inquiries.'It came as the boss of Devon and Cornwall Police has defended her embattled force over the way it has handled the Ann Widdecombe murder investigation.Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez hit back at criticism after her officers spent days insisting the Tory former minister's death had no link to terrorism.But counter-terror officers were called in yesterday to take over from local detectives as the investigation escalated.It prompted claims from Reform UK that police misled the public over the death of the party's immigration and justice spokesman at her home on Dartmoor last Wednesday.In a robust statement today, Ms Hernandez said: 'There's been some commentary about the way Devon and Cornwall police have communicated during the early stages of this case.'But, as the Home Secretary (Shabana Mahmood) said yesterday, it is not unusual that in a fast-paced investigation, more information comes to light that changes the nature or the character of what the police are dealing with.'Counter-terror officers took over running the investigation on Monday following the discovery of the former MP's body at her home on Dartmoor on Thursday. Ms Widdecombe appeared on Talk TV on Wednesday before her death The suspect was captured on CCTV leaving his property shortly before 8am on Wednesday with what appears to be a pole in the pocket of his shorts Forensic officers were seen heading into the house in Rotherham after the arrest on SaturdayHome Secretary Ms Mahmood confirmed yesterday that the British white suspect arrested on suspicion of murder and terror offences, who the Mail is not naming for legal reasons, was not known to the Government's deradicalisation programme, Prevent. Devon and Cornwall Police has faced significant criticism over its initial handling of the inquiry and the fact it was five days in before counter terror officers took over.Local officers waited more than 24 hours to announce a murder investigation, before Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said on Friday night: 'The incident is not being treated as terrorism', and later said there was no evidence to suggest the crime was politically motivated.Devon and Cornwall Police also arrested a local labourer in error on Friday before detaining a 28-year-old suspect nearly 300 miles away in Rotherham, south Yorkshire, on Saturday night.He remains in police custody.The Mail has learnt that items of varying political ideology, including Russian material, have been found at the suspect's home and on electronic devices.In her statement, the Police and Crime Commissioner paid tribute to Ms Widdecombe 'an exceptionally likeable character'.A huge cordon remains in place near Ms Widdecombe's remote home, but Ms Hernandez hinted at an imminent return to normality.