Police believe Ann Widdecombe was attacked 24 hours before body found
Police believe former MP and MEP Ann Widdecombe was attacked in her home nearly 24 hours before her body was discovered and said they are hunting for a white male suspect.
The ex-Tory prisons minister was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor at around 11.40am on Thursday after sustaining serious injuries.
Devon and Cornwall Police said on Saturday it is believed Miss Widdecombe was attacked on Wednesday at around 12.30pm.
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said her death is being treated as suspicious but added: “We do not believe there is a wider risk to the public.”
He said: “Our inquiries are moving at pace for a suspect who is believed to be a white male.”
Miss Widdecombe, who was 78, was first elected a Conservative MP in Kent in 1987, went on to serve as an MEP for the Brexit Party and then a spokeswoman for Reform UK.
She also found fame outside politics after starring in Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.
A 26-year-old white British man who was arrested at an address in Newton Abbot on suspicion of the murder of Miss Widdecombe on Friday was released from custody on Saturday.
In a statement released on Saturday evening, Mr Longman said: “I want to start with expressing my thanks to the local community and to the people who have come forward so far with their information.
“We have been working at pace on this investigation.
“Officers are making progress and are pursuing a number of lines of inquiry.
“At this time, we have made the active decision not to release further information, including descriptions of any potential suspects or releasing CCTV footage.
“Releasing such information prematurely could compromise ongoing inquiries and may prejudice future investigative opportunities.”
He said the decision not to disclose further details is made on an “operational basis”, adding that the force will release information to the public when it is “appropriate and necessary”.
“I would ask the public again, please do not to speculate on social media,” he continued.
“If you have any relevant information and have not yet reported, please do so via the major incident public portal.
“Our thoughts remain with Ann Widdecombe’s family and friends at this sad time. They continue to be supported by specialist officers.”
Devon and Cornwall Police previously said the case of her death is “not being treated as terrorism” and there is “no information” at this time to suggest it was a “politically motivated crime”.
Christine Maloney, who lives near Miss Widdecombe’s home in Haytor, said the area was “very safe” and it was not unusual for people to leave their cars and front doors unlocked.
She said of the former MP: “My husband saw her a week ago, driving around.
“I’m very shocked at (her death), it shouldn’t have happened, it’s horrific.
“Everyone knows that’s her house, perhaps that’s the problem?”
She added: “It’s got to be someone that’s local or knows her.
“Whoever did it, I think they should put him out for the locals to deal with him.”
Alison and Simon Gilbert, who have lived in Haytor Vale for more than a decade, said Miss Widdecombe was a well-known figure locally.
Mrs Gilbert said: “She was a nice woman, really nice woman, and she had a great sense of humour. It’s a lovely area – you talk to strangers.
“Everyone saw her as quite an opinionated politician, but to us she was just a person in the community.
“First of all, we got back and saw police and thought maybe it was a burglary, a lot of us suspected she had a heart attack or something.”
“She didn’t deserve to die like that,” Mr Gilbert added.
Miss Widdecombe’s personal driver of 10 years, Peter Horrell, lay flowers in front of her home on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Horrell said the politician “never mentioned any fear” for her safety and loved living in Haytor.
Describing their relationship, he said: “Oh, she was a great lady, very kind. You know, she was absolutely a privilege to take in the car, and she was funny at times.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage visited the village to pay tribute to Miss Widdecombe on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters, he said his political party has been going through its emails to check for patterns of abuse directed at Miss Widdecombe, but has not been able to find anything.
In a statement on social media, Mr Farage said the former MP and MEP’s death, and subsequent police murder investigation, was a “terrible reflection on modern Britain”.
In a video statement published on social media, he added: “And I do fear that for anybody in public life, or especially the political space, things have become even more dangerous today.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urged people to come together across political divides following the murder.
He said he had spoken to his likely successor Andy Burnham, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK’s Mr Farage to “urge everybody to come together at a moment like this”.
Conservative leader Mrs Badenoch said she “really struggled to find the words to say” following Miss Widdecombe’s death.
“I don’t understand how someone could do something so horrific to an elderly person. It was a nasty, horrific attack and my heart is breaking for her family,” she added.
Miss Widdecombe was a Conservative MP between 1987 and 2010 for the Kent constituency of Maidstone, later Maidstone and the Weald, and held several ministerial positions in Sir John Major’s government.
In her post-Commons career, she appeared on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, partnered with Anton du Beke, and reached the semi-finals thanks to the public vote.
She became a member of Mr Farage’s Brexit Party in 2019 and served as an MEP representing South West England in Brussels between 2019 and 2020.
She later became immigration and justice spokeswoman for Mr Farage’s Reform UK and remained active in the media.
She appeared on TalkTV on Wednesday morning, the day before she was found dead and was also due to be a guest on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright show on Wednesday afternoon, but did not appear, as first reported by ITV.
She had exchanged messages with a researcher from the show, but did not respond when they tried to contact her to join a Zoom call from home.
Calls and texts sent after the programme aired remained unanswered, ITV said, and the team on the Channel 5 show followed up with her agent later on Wednesday and on Thursday.
Published: by Radio NewsHub