Devon and Cornwall Police have launched a murder investigation after the former MP, who represented Maidstone for 23 years, was found with serious injuries at her Dartmoor home.
A 26-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Ann Widdecombe, the former Conservative MP for Maidstone, after she was found dead at her home in Devon.
Ms Widdecombe, 78, who represented Maidstone and later Maidstone and The Weald for 23 years before becoming a prominent figure in the Brexit Party and Reform UK, was discovered with serious injuries at her home at Haytor, on the edge of Dartmoor, on Thursday. Devon and Cornwall Police have launched a murder investigation.
What Police Have Said
Officers were called by the ambulance service to an address at Haytor at around 11.40am on Thursday 9 July, the force said. Ms Widdecombe was found dead, having sustained serious injuries, and a murder investigation was launched by the force’s Major Crime Investigation Team.
On Friday, police confirmed that a 26-year-old white British man had been arrested on suspicion of murder at an address in Newton Abbot, a few miles from Ms Widdecombe’s home. He remains in custody.
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said the incident was “not being treated as terrorism” and that he had “no information to believe that that is a politically motivated crime.” Police said they were keeping an open mind about the motive and that it was too early to say whether the suspect was known to Ms Widdecombe.
Officers have appealed for anyone with information, or with relevant CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage from the Haytor area, to come forward.
23 Years Representing Maidstone
For Kent, this is not a distant Devon story. Ann Widdecombe was one of the county’s best-known political figures for more than two decades. She was elected Conservative MP for Maidstone in 1987 and went on to represent the redrawn seat of Maidstone and The Weald from 1997 until she stood down at the 2010 general election.
During her time in Parliament she held a series of ministerial posts, including Minister of State at the Home Office under John Major, where she was responsible for prisons. She built a reputation as one of Westminster’s most forthright voices on law and order, sentencing and social policy — admired and criticised in roughly equal measure.
A National Figure
Ms Widdecombe remained in the public eye long after leaving the Commons. She reached a new audience as a contestant on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, wrote novels and newspaper columns, and returned to frontline politics later in life — first as a Brexit Party MEP for South West England in 2019, and subsequently as a spokesperson for Reform UK.
Tributes
News of her death prompted tributes from across the political spectrum. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it was a moment to “rise above any political differences” and spoke to party leaders including Nigel Farage to urge unity.
Mr Farage, the Reform UK leader, described Ms Widdecombe as “an absolute force of nature”. Reflecting on her decision to join the Brexit Party in 2019, he said: “She made us look serious. She made us look real.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “I don’t understand how someone could do something so horrific to an elderly person.”
The Legal Position
A person has been arrested but not charged, and the investigation is at an early stage. An arrest is not a finding of guilt: anyone charged is entitled to the presumption of innocence and to a fair trial. Because criminal proceedings are now active, Kent Local News will not publish material that could prejudice them, and this report is limited to what police and other official sources have confirmed.
Kent Local News will update this story as the investigation develops. Anyone with information can contact Devon and Cornwall Police, quoting Operation Hunlen.
Sources
Original source: Devon & Cornwall Police — murder enquiry statement
Additional reporting: ITV News, The Guardian and RTÉ.