Ann Widdecombe was killed in 'targeted attack', say counter-terrorism police
Officers ‘working to understand the extent of any planning or preparation, and the motivation’
Veteran politician Ann Widdecombe was killed in a “targeted attack”, counter-terrorism police investigating her death have said.
The head of Counter Terrorism Policing said the question of whether a TV appearance might have motivated her killing, and whether the suspect was targeting other Reform UK figures were both lines of inquiry.
Former MEP Miss Widdecombe, 78, was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon last Thursday.
A 28-year-old white British man remains under arrest on suspicion of commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism, as well as on suspicion of murder, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said.
Counter-terrorism police are now in charge of the case after new evidence came to light – but a senior officer stressed the murder and terror investigations are currently working “in parallel”.
The head of Counter Terrorism Policing defended Devon and Cornwall Police for initially saying there was nothing to suggest a political motivation for the Reform UK spokeswoman’s murder.
It comes after Alison Hernandez, the police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, said she was confident the force had “provided a substantial and professional response” to the murder.
Mr Taylor told reporters: “It is clear that this was a targeted attack.
“We are still working to understand the extent of any planning or preparation, and the motivation that sits behind that attack.
“I wouldn’t want to comment on what that motivation was.
“The two investigations are running in parallel.”
He continued: “In terms of the preparation and planning, we are aware that there has been some preparation and planning. I don’t want to go into the details of the extent of that at this stage.”
Mr Taylor said the question of whether a TV appearance might have motivated her killing is a “line of inquiry”.
She spoke to Mark Dolan by video-link on Talk TV just after 8am on Wednesday, and police believe she was attacked at about 12.30pm the same day.
CCTV footage appears to show a man leaving an address linked to the suspect in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, at around 7am on Wednesday.
It is approximately 260 miles and around a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Rotherham to Miss Widdecombe’s address.
In what is thought to be her final interview, recorded some 20 minutes before she died, Miss Widdecombe called politics a “game of personal destruction”.
At midday on Wednesday, she spoke to Christian radio station TWR for around 10 minutes on Zoom for a pre-recorded interview.
She joined the call at 11.54am, with the interview starting at 12.01pm and ending at 12.10pm.
During the interview, the Reform UK spokeswoman defended party leader Nigel Farage over his decision to stand down from his Clacton constituency and call a by-election, which paused the investigation into him by Parliament’s Standards Committee to determine whether he failed to properly declare his interests.
Miss Widdecombe said: “He probably thinks, where is this going to end? Let’s bring an end to it. Let’s bring this to a head. Let’s put it to the people to see what they think of all of this.
“There has been a game now for a very long time. A game of personal destruction, not just for Nigel, for lots and lots of politicians.”
She criticised the parliamentary register of interests as “a joke” and said it has “departed from its original purpose”.
The interview was never broadcast on TWR.
Asked if police were probing whether the suspect was targeting other Reform UK figures, Mr Taylor said: “So clearly, part of our responsibility when investigating offences of this nature is to assure ourselves and therefore the public and others of any extant of threat.
“That will form a line of investigation to ensure that we are putting all appropriate measures in place to mitigate any threat, should it become apparent.
“I’m not saying there is or there isn’t at this stage.”
Pushing back against claims police had attempted to massage public opinion, Mr Taylor said: “I come back to investigations are complex, things move at a pace, information changes.
“Once information came to light that made it appropriate for counterterrorism policing to take over this investigation. That is what we did.”
Officers have been granted a warrant of further detention meaning the suspect can now be held for questioning for up to seven days under the Terrorism Act, he added.
“There are multiple lines of inquiry that we are pursuing expeditiously, and that includes a number of digital forensic examinations,” the senior officer continued.
“It is important to remember that this is a murder investigation following a brutal attack on a 78-year-old lady in her home.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told the House of Commons on Monday the suspect was not known to the government anti-extremism scheme Prevent.
Footage was shared with media outlets, including the Sun newspaper and Sky News, showing a man with no top on being arrested and led away from a house in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on Saturday.
ITV News later published a series of WhatsApp images that appear to show that Miss Widdecombe stopped responding to messages from a TV producer after the approximate time police believe the attack took place that day.
Miss Widdecombe was first elected a Conservative MP in Kent in 1987, and went on to become 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.
Former Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson has said he was “very sorry and shocked” about the death of his “dear colleague”.
During a visit to the Nova Exhibition in Shoreditch, London, he described Miss Widdecombe as a “hard act to follow” and urged everyone to “let the police get on” with their investigations.
Mr Johnson commended Miss Widdecombe as an “extraordinary politician” and called the circumstances of her death “appalling and unforgivable”.
He said: “I’m very very sorry and shocked about the murder or what seems to be the murder of Ann who was a dear colleague, I knew her for many, many years.
“She was a totally redoubtable person, an extraordinary politician and a very, very hard act to follow by the way, she left audiences absolutely wrung out with emotion after she did her stuff.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.