Police Believe Anne Widdcombe Was Attacked 24 Hours Before Her Body Was Discovered

Police investigating the death of Ann Widdecombe believe the former Conservative MP and prominent pro-life advocate was attacked nearly 24 hours before her body was discovered with serious injuries at her home on Dartmoor in Devon.

Devon and Cornwall Police said they believe Widdecombe, 78, was attacked around 12:30 BST on Wednesday. Her body was found at about 11:40 BST on Thursday after ambulance staff called officers to the property in the village of Haytor.

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Widdecombe had been scheduled to appear via Zoom that Wednesday afternoon on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright show. She exchanged messages with a producer beforehand but did not join the call.

A murder investigation was launched after her body was found. An initial suspect, a 26-year-old white British man arrested in nearby Newton Abbot, was released and is no longer part of the inquiry.

A 28-year-old white British man from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was later arrested on suspicion of murder. He has since been re-arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

Counter Terrorism Policing is now leading the investigation following new information and evidence.

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor of Counter Terrorism Policing said, “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.

”Taylor added that police are “pursuing multiple lines of inquiry to establish the motivation for this attack.”

Widdecombe served as a Conservative MP for Maidstone and the Weald from 1987 to 2010 and held junior ministerial roles in the Home Office and Department for Employment under Prime Minister John Major. After leaving Parliament, she became a vocal campaigner on social issues and a leading voice in Britain’s pro-life movement, consistently opposing abortion.

She later served as an MEP for the Brexit Party and acted as justice and immigration spokeswoman for Reform UK.

Her management team described her as someone who “loved the cut and thrust of political debate” and remained active in campaigning and media appearances.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the news “shocking” and offered prayers and support to her family. But leftists have disgustingly celebrated her murder, with one arrested after posting a violent celebration on social media.

Other political figures across parties expressed shock at the killing of the longtime public figure known for her socially conservative positions, including her steadfast defense of unborn life.

Police said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the murder. The suspect remains in custody as inquiries continue. A heightened police presence has been reported in the area around Widdecombe’s home.

As a patron of Right To Life UK for many years, her strong and consistent pro-life voting record serves as an example and aspiration for younger pro-life politicians entering the world of being a publicly pro-life politician, the group told LifeNews.

During her time in politics and after, she consistently voted in favour of greater protections for unborn babies and against attempts to legalise assisted suicide. As early as 1990, in a debate on the Abortion Act 1967, she argued that abortion should not be treated as any other medical intervention and that existing protections for unborn babies should not be eroded further.

In the same year, when debating amendments to the then Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, Widdecombe insisted that unborn babies not be left out of the discussion, arguing that, due to medical advances, the abortion limit should be lowered.

In another debate in the same year, Widdecombe raised concerns that an amendment to abortion legislation, allowing the Health Secretary to designate “a class of places” as suitable for abortions, would inadvertently pave the way for at-home abortions.

However, the author of the amendment, Robert Key MP, dismissed Widdecombe’s concerns and accused the then Conservative MP of speaking from “the whip issued by the pro-life group” and misleading Parliament.

The Health Secretary at the time, Kenneth Clarke, then assured MPs that the legislation was not intended to legalise home abortions and that abortions would only be “administered only in closely regulated circumstances under the supervision of a registered medical practitioner”.

Chris Whitehouse, a Right To Life UK Trustee, said: “For 40 years, Ann was to me a personal and family friend, a political mentor and a remarkable heroine of the pro-life cause. To have known her was a pleasure and a privilege, if sometimes a challenge. She was unflinching in her politics, constant in her friendships and steadfast in her defence of the principle of the right to life, both for the unborn and for those approaching the end of their lives”.

30 years later, Ann Widdecombe’s then-dismissed concerns have become a reality in the form of pills-by-post abortion, which, as of 2023, accounts for 72% of all abortions in England and Wales.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the circumstances as extremely distressing. “Ann’s dedication to public service was decades long, and she was a true servant of her constituents,” Mahmood said.

She added that the Home Office stands ready to support the police investigation and urged the public to avoid speculation.

Former Conservative minister Edwina Currie, a longtime acquaintance of Widdecombe, expressed shock at the news. “A frail 78-year-old lady, and they’re looking for a white male. God help us all,” Currie wrote on social media.

Widdecombe’s management company said it was “absolutely devastated by this news following a very traumatic and upsetting 24 hours” and appealed for anyone with information to contact police.

The murder inquiry remains in its early stages, with officers continuing to gather evidence and appeal for public assistance.

First elected as a Conservative MP for Maidstone in 1987, she held her seat until leaving the Commons in 2010, during which time she held two Ministerial positions, including Minister of State at the Home Office with responsibility for prisons and immigration. She was the only prison Minister to have personally visited every prison in England and Wales.

She returned to frontline politics in 2019 as a Member of the European Parliament until January 2020.