British police on Saturday said that a 28-year-old man has been arrested in South Yorkshire on suspicion of murdering former Ann Widdecombe.
The suspect is a white British national and is now in police custody, the statement said.
The police said there was no information to suggest the murder of the 78-year-old was related to terrorism or had a political motive.
Widdecombe was found dead at her isolated rural home in the village of Haytor on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, on Thursday. Concerns were raised for her after she failed to appear for a scheduled TV interview on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the police, the former lawmaker died on Wednesday, a day before ambulance workers called police to her home, where her body was found with serious injuries.
The police said they consulted counter-terrorism policing as part of their initial enquiries, but it was not supporting the investigation.
They also said the suspect was believed to be a white male and that there was no wider risk to the public.
Who was Ann Widdecombe?
Widdecombe was known for her socially conservative views, first as a junior minister in Conservative Prime Minister John Major’s 1992-1997 government and latterly as an immigration and justice spokesperson for ‘s populist Reform UK.
She converted to Catholicism partly in protest at the ‘s ordination of women as priests and was opposed to abortion and to equalising the age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual relationships.
She also defended a policy of shackling pregnant prisoners during childbirth to prevent their escape and viewed single mothers as poor role models, but was unusual among Conservative lawmakers in opposing the hunting of foxes with hounds.
Farage described her as “an extraordinary woman”.
“She stood up and fought for what she believed in – a devout Christian and somebody with strong, socially conservative views,” Farage said in a video clip posted on X.
Another suspect cleared
Earlier, the police had released a 26-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of murdering Widdecombe and stated that the individual was no longer part of the investigation.
The man who was released, a white British national, was arrested in Newton Abbot, a town about 9 miles (15 km) from Widdecombe’s home in Haytor in rural southwest England, police said on Friday.
“Our priority remains identifying those responsible and ensuring that all available evidence is thoroughly examined,” Devon and Cornwall Police Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said in a statement on Saturday, adding that the enquiry was in its early stages but “moving at a significant pace”.
