Ann Widdecombe, a former Tory minister and later Reform spokesperson, was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor at around 11.40am on Thursday after sustaining serious injuries
Reform UK MPs are being placed under round-the-clock security protection as police press ahead with their murder investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe.
The veteran politician, a former Tory minister and later Reform spokesperson, was discovered dead at her Haytor home on Dartmoor at around 11.40am on Thursday, having sustained serious injuries.
As reported by The Mail on Sunday, Reform’s MPs have been placed under 24-hour protection in the wake of Miss Widdecombe’s death. The party is reportedly footing the bill for the security. Reform leader Nigel Farage travelled to Devon on Saturday to lay a wreath in honour of Miss Widdecombe, speaking to waiting reporters about the case while there.
The latest update form Devon and Cornwall Police came late last night when they confirmed a 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of her murder. A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that a 28-year-old man was arrested at an address in the South Yorkshire area this evening [11 July] on suspicion of the murder of Ann Widdecombe.
“The suspect, who is a white British national, is now in police custody. Miss Widdecombe’s family have been informed of this development.
“We were supported by Counter Terrorism Policing North East and South Yorkshire Police who carried out the arrest on behalf of Devon & Cornwall Police. At this time, there is still no information to suggest that this is a terrorism related incident and as a force we retain primacy of the investigation.
“This is a live and active investigation, and no further information will be issued tonight. We will look to provide further updates tomorrow [12 July].”
ITV News has published a series of WhatsApp images which appear to show that Miss Widdecombe stopped responding to messages from a TV producer after the approximate time police believe the attack took place on Wednesday.
WhatsApp messages published by the broadcaster show a conversation between Miss Widdecombe and a producer from Channel 5’s Matt Allwright show, ahead of her scheduled appearance on the programme on Wednesday.
She last sent a message at 12.19pm that day acknowledging she had received a Zoom link to appear on the programme, which read “Received! Panic Over!”
But Miss Widdecombe did not respond to a message asking her to join the Zoom call at 12.48pm, and did not answer further calls or other messages attempting to contact her.
Mr Allwright then confirmed at 1.27pm live on air she was booked to appear on the show, but had not turned up. The production team then followed up with Miss Widdecombe’s agent on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
Widdecombe’s final televised appearance was on a TalkTV broadcast on Wednesday morning, during which she spoke about the upcoming Clacton by-election.
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