Politics
Man arrested on suspicion of murder of former British minister Ann Widdecombe | WKZO | All Kalamazoo
By William James and Andrew MacAskill
LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) – British police arrested a man on Friday suspected of murdering Ann Widdecombe, after the 78-year-old former British government minister and reform politician was found dead after “sustaining serious injuries”.
Police said a 26-year-old white British man was arrested in Newton Abbot, a town about 15km from Widdecombe’s home in rural southwest England.
Deputy Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police Matt Longman said there was no information to suggest the killing was linked to terrorism or had a political motive.
Widdecombe was well known for her socially conservative views, first as a junior minister in Conservative Prime Minister John Major’s government from 1992 to 1997, and then as spokesperson on immigration and justice for Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party.
Police said officers were called to Widdecombe’s home shortly after noon on Thursday, where she was found dead. Forensic examinations of the property were underway, they said.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid tribute to Ann’s “dedication over her many years of public service”.
Two sitting British MPs have been assassinated in the past decade.
Labor lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed by a Nazi-obsessed loner during the Brexit campaign in 2016. Conservative lawmaker David Amess was stabbed to death in 2021 by a man inspired by the Islamic State militant group.
WIDDECOMBE KNOWN FOR HIS SOCIALLY CONSERVATIVE AND PRO-BREXIT VISIONS
Throughout her political career, Widdecombe was known for her outspokenness and socially conservative views, including her opposition to abortion and equalizing the age of consent for same-sex and heterosexual relationships.
She also championed a policy of shackling pregnant prisoners during childbirth to prevent their escape and considered unwed mothers poor role models, but she was unusual among conservative lawmakers in opposing fox hunting with hounds.
In one of her most memorable comments, she said her former boss and future Conservative leader Michael Howard had “something of the night in him”.
Widdecombe said she never had sex or experienced romance and converted to Catholicism partly in protest against the ordination of women as priests by the Church of England.
After leaving Parliament, she appeared on the TV show “Strictly Come Dancing” in 2010. Despite her awkward dancing style and criticism from judges, she was popular with viewers. She later said the show’s decision to feature same-sex couples was not in keeping with its family audience.
She then joined Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party and was a member of the European Parliament between 2019 and 2020.
After his death was announced, and before details of the murder investigation were announced, former colleagues from Britain’s Conservative and Reform parties paid tribute to him.
Farage said she “played a decisive role in getting Brexit across the finish line”.
Former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson called her “a heroic Brexit supporter and a great orator who could transport Conservative audiences into such ecstasy that she was very difficult to follow.”
(Reporting by William James and Andrew MacAskill; additional reporting by Muvija and Sam Tobin. Editing by David Milliken, Sharon Singleton and Andrew Heavens)
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