Killing of UK politician Ann Widdecombe was a ‘threat’, police say | Crime Stories

Investigators are looking into what led to the killings and how much planning was involved.

Former British politician Ann Widdecombe, who was He was killed in his home last weekhe was the victim of an attack, the “anti-terrorism” police said.

“It is clear that this was an attack. We are still working to understand the extent of any planning or preparation and what led to the attack,” Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of the police’s counter-terrorism unit, told reporters on Tuesday, five days after Widdecombe was found dead of “fatal injuries” at his home in Devon in southwest England.

Local police caught a British white man late Saturday on suspicion of murder. Anti-terrorist police, who took the search On Monday, he will be re-arrested on suspicion of “committing, planning or inciting terrorist acts”.

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Taylor did not elaborate on the attacker’s motive, saying only that “it’s a difficult investigation” and that it would be a mistake for him to “try to suggest ideas or motivations at this point”.

The “terrorism” investigation was running alongside the investigation into Widdecombe’s murder, Taylor added.

Widdecombe, 78, was a prominent member of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, who was its spokesman for immigration and justice until his death. At the beginning of his career – from 1987 to 2010 – he served as a Conservative MP for Maidstone and held government positions, including shadow home secretary in 1999. Later he became a TV personality, with shows including Big Brother and Strictly Come Dancing.

He was known for his anti-abortion stance and equalizing the age of consent for homosexuals and same-sex couples.

After police said there was no “terrorist link” to Widdecombe’s murder, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Monday said “new information” had come to light that changed the investigation.

Mahmood said the suspect was not identified by the country’s “anti-terrorism program”, Prevent, and appealed to the public to come forward with any relevant information.

The Widdecombe case has raised concerns about political security in the UK. Two members of the British Parliament have been assassinated in the last decade.

In 2016, Labor MP Jo Cox was shot and killed by a Nazi during the Brexit campaign. In 2021, Conservative lawmaker David Amess was stabbed to death he is a person inspired by the ISIL (ISIS) group.