Ann Widdecombe Killed: Police arrested white British male, 26

The 78-year-old former Conservative lawmaker and prisons minister had “sustained serious injuries” when she was found on Thursday in Haytor, on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, according to a statement from Devon and Cornwall Police.

Devon and Cornwall police have confirmed that a 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of the murder of  Ann   Widdecombe  this afternoon.

The man, who police confirmed is a white British national, was arrested at an address in Newton Abbot.

Assistant chief constable Matt Longman said that there was “no information” at this time to suggest the murder of Ann Widdecombe was a politically motivated crime.

He also said that the inquiry is “in its early stages” but “moving at significant pace”.

“Heroic Brexiteer"

Widdecombe served as a Conservative MP for Maidstone, Kent, for 23 years and held several positions in Sir John Major's government.

She served in the House of Commons as an MP from 1987 to 2010 and was known for socially conservative views opposing abortion rights and expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.

She found fame after leaving Parliament as a contestant on the Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother reality television shows.

Later joined the Brexit Party and became a spokesperson for the anti-immigration Reform UK party.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson called her a “heroic Brexiteer and a great speaker who could move Tory audiences to such ecstasy that she was a very hard act to follow."

Kitty Donaldson, the i’s chief political commentator, has written a nice account of a recent dinner with Ann Widdecombe that she published earlier today. It includes this paragraph.

Over dinner she talked fondly of how her regular spot on Jeremy Vine’s show gave her a reason to leave her remote Dartmoor cottage and come to London. Asked if she was ever frightened at being so isolated, she said she had never even considered the question.

Sources: The Guardian, SKY News, Euronews