Police say Ann Widdecombe killing was targeted attack

Counterterrorism police said Tuesday that Ann Widdecombe was killed in a targeted attack at her Devon home, as detectives investigate the motive and whether there was planning or preparation before the assault.

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said investigators are pursuing multiple lines of inquiry after the 78-year-old former Conservative minister and Reform UK spokeswoman was found dead Thursday, July 9, at her home in Haytor. Police believe the attack took place the previous day. Widdecombe had sustained serious injuries.

“It is clear that this was a targeted attack,” Taylor told reporters at New Scotland Yard. “We are still working to understand the extent of any planning or preparation, and the motivation that sits behind that attack.”

A 28-year-old white British man was arrested Saturday on suspicion of murder. He was re-arrested Monday on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. Detectives have obtained a warrant under the Terrorism Act allowing them to hold him for up to seven days.

Taylor said a counterterrorism investigation is running alongside the murder inquiry, but the killing “has not been declared a terrorist incident at this stage.” He said investigators are carrying out “a number of digital forensic examinations” and described the case as complex.

“I wouldn’t want to comment on what that motivation was,” Taylor said. “In terms of motive it would be wrong for me to ascribe either an ideology, or what the motivation might be at this stage.”

He declined to say whether police were examining possible foreign state involvement, whether the suspect may have committed terrorism offences separate from the killing, or whether other politicians could have been potential targets. Asked if Widdecombe’s appearance on Talk TV on the morning she was killed was being examined, Taylor said: “We are exploring all lines of inquiry and that is one of the lines of inquiry that we’ll be exploring.”

“My request is that we don’t over speculate and that we go where the investigation takes us,” he said.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told the House of Commons on Monday that the suspect was not known to Prevent, the government’s anti-terror programme. Al Jazeera reported that Mahmood said “new information” had changed the character of the investigation, and that she appealed for members of the public to provide relevant information.

Counterterrorism police took over the case Monday from Devon and Cornwall Police. The local force had earlier said that, while it was keeping an open mind, there was “nothing to suggest” the murder was politically motivated. Taylor said the handover followed new information.

Devon and Cornwall’s police and crime commissioner, Alison Hernandez, defended the force’s early handling of the case, acknowledging “commentary” about police communication but calling the response “substantial and professional.” She said it was “not unusual” for counterterrorism police to become involved later.

“This is a murder investigation following a brutal attack on a 78-year-old woman in her own home,” Taylor said, adding that the killing had a “deeply distressing impact on Miss Widdecombe’s family.”

Widdecombe served as Conservative MP for Maidstone in Kent for 23 years, from 1987 to 2010, and held government and opposition posts, including shadow home secretary in 1999. She later became a television personality, appearing on shows including Big Brother and Strictly Come Dancing, and was a prominent Reform UK figure, serving as its immigration and justice spokeswoman until her death.

The BBC reported that Widdecombe gave a pre-recorded interview to British Christian radio station TWR-UK about 20 minutes before police believe she was attacked. The nine-minute video-link interview was not broadcast by the station, but part of the recording was later shared with Times Radio and aired Tuesday. In it, she discussed her support for Reform UK leader Nigel Farage after his decision to re-fight his Essex seat in a by-election amid scrutiny over his finances and a parliamentary investigation.