UK police open murder probe after ex-minister Widdecombe found dead
What's new: Officers arrested a 26-year-old man in Newton Abbot and said there was no sign of terrorism or a political motive.
British police have opened a murder investigation after former minister and Reform UK politician Ann Widdecombe, 78, was found dead with serious injuries at her home in south-west England. Devon and Cornwall Police said officers were called to the property shortly after midday on July 9 and that forensic work remained underway. A 26-year-old white British man was arrested in Newton Abbot, about 15 kilometers from Widdecombe’s home, on suspicion of murder. Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said investigators had no information indicating terrorism or a political motive. Widdecombe served as a junior minister in John Major’s Conservative government and later became an immigration and justice spokesperson for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.