Murder of UK politician Ann Widdecombe was ‘targeted attack’, police say

Investigators are looking into what motivated the killing and how much preparation was involved.

The veteran British populist politician Ann Widdecombe, who was murdered at her home last week, was the victim of a targeted attack, “counterterrorism” police have 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,” Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of counter terrorism policing, told reporters on Tuesday, five days after Widdecombe was found dead with “serious injuries” at her home in Devon in southwest England

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Local police arrested a white British man late on Saturday on suspicion of her murder. Counter terrorism ⁠police officers, who took over the investigation ⁠on Monday, have since rearrested him on “suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”.

‘Complex investigation’

Taylor did not give specific details on the attacker’s motive, saying only that “it is a complex investigation” and that it would be wrong for him to “try and ascribe either an ‌ideology or what that motivation might be at this stage”.

The “terrorism” investigation was running in parallel to the investigation into Widdecombe’s murder, Taylor added.

Widdecombe, 78, had been a ⁠prominent member of Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK, serving as its immigration and justice spokesperson until her death. Earlier in her career – from 1987 to 2010 – she served as the Conservative MP for Maidstone and held government positions, including shadow home secretary in 1999. She later became a TV personality, featuring on shows including Big Brother and Strictly Come Dancing.

She was known for her stance against abortion and against equalising the age of consent for gay and heterosexual relationships.

After police initially said there was nothing to suggest a “terrorism link” in Widdecombe’s murder, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said on Monday that “new information” had come to light that had changed the character of the investigation.

Mahmood said the suspect was not known to the country’s “counterterrorism programme”, Prevent, and appealed to the public to come forward with any relevant information.

Widdecombe’s case has amplified concerns about the security of politicians in the UK. Two serving British members ‌of Parliament ‌have been murdered in the last decade.

In 2016, Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed by a Nazi-obsessed attacker during the Brexit campaign. In 2021, Conservative lawmaker David Amess was stabbed to death by a man who was inspired by the ISIL (ISIS) group.