UK police have arrested a man suspected of murdering former MP Ann Widdecombe Crime Stories

Reform UK politician Widdecombe, 78, was found dead at his home on Thursday from fatal injuries.

British police have arrested a 26-year-old man on suspicion of murdering Ann Widdecombe, a former government minister and prominent Brexit activist, who was found dead at her home on Thursday.

Matt Longman, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said on Friday that the suspect remained in custody and that “the incident is not being treated as terrorism” or politically motivated.

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Police earlier said they had launched a murder investigation after officers were called to Widdecombe’s home in south-west England on Thursday afternoon and found the 78-year-old dead from severe injuries.

“Our homicide inquiry is in its early stages but is moving quickly,” Devon and Cornwall Police said in a previous statement.

“We are using everything necessary to find out what happened and to find the person we believe to be white.”

Forensic tests are ongoing at the scene, he added.

Widdecombe was a Conservative member of parliament between 1987 and 2010 and held a number of junior positions in Prime Minister John Major’s government. He later joined the Brexit Party and a far-right, anti-immigration movement Change UK.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his condolences to Widdecombe’s family and friends.

He said: “This is very scary news. Ann was a prominent politician for many years, and she has done a lot, and this is a huge loss,” he added.

Labor political spokesman Andy Burnham, who could be the next Prime Minister, said “his deepest condolences and thoughts are with Ann’s family today, at a very difficult time”, British media reported.

Two serving British MPs have been assassinated in the past decade. Labor lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed by a lone Nazi during Brexit in 2016. Conservative lawmaker ⁠David Amess was murdered in 2021 by a man inspired by ISIL (ISIS) group.

Socially conservative thinking

Throughout her political career, Widdecombe was known for her conservative views, including her opposition to abortion and equalizing the age of consent for same-sex and same-sex couples.

He also defended the law of imprisoning pregnant prisoners to prevent them from escaping.

After leaving Parliament, she appeared on the TV talent show “Strictly Come Dancing” in 2010 and became popular with viewers.

He later joined them Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party and became a member of the European Parliament between 2019 and 2020.

His most recent post was as immigration spokesman for Reform UK, the reformed Brexit party, which is leading the polls.

Following the announcement of his death, and before announcing the details of the murder, former friends of both Conservative and Reform parties UK he paid tribute to him.

Former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson described him in X-letters as “a bold Brexiteer and an orator who could so captivate Tory audiences that he was hard to follow”.