Police say a 28-year-old man has been arrested in South Yorkshire over the murder of British politician Ann Widdecombe.
“The suspect, who is a white British national, is now in police custody,” a statement from Devon and Cornwall Police said.
The retired Conservative politician was found dead at her home in Devon on Thursday morning, but authorities believe she may have been murdered around 24 hours earlier. Her body was found with blunt-force injuries.
Police had previously arrested a 26-year-old man in nearby Newton Abbot, but say he has now been released and is “no longer part of the investigation”.
The new suspect was tracked down around 430 kilometres away in South Yorkshire. He was arrested by Counter Terrorism Policing North East and South Yorkshire Police. Police say there is still no evidence that the attack was terrorism-related or politically motivated.
“At this time, there is still no information to suggest that this is a terrorism-related incident and, as a force, we retain primacy of the investigation,” police said in a statement.
Throughout her political career, Ann Widdecombe was known for her socially conservative views, including her opposition to abortion and her support for conversion therapy for LGBTIQA+ people. In 2019, she told Sky News that science had “yet to produce an answer” as to why some people are not heterosexual.
During her time in the UK Parliament, 17 items relating to LGBTIQA+ rights came before the House. Widdecombe opposed 15 of them and was not present for the votes on the other two. She opposed the equalisation of the age of consent and the repeal of Section 28, which prohibited the “promotion of homosexuality” by local authorities and in schools. Widdecombe also opposed same-sex marriage and gender self-identification for transgender people.
Religion was a significant part of Widdecombe’s life. She converted to Catholicism after the Church of England approved the ordination of women. She never married or had children.
After leaving politics, she became a fixture on British reality television programmes, including Celebrity Big Brother, Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Fit Club.
