Residents of tiny Devon village shocked by Ann Widdecombe’s death

Police launched a murder investigation after Ann Widdecombe was found dead with serious injuries at her home near Haytor, on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. The former Conservative MP was 78. A 26-year-old man was arrested in Newton Abbot on Friday afternoon and later released, and police said he is no longer part of the inquiry.

Devon and Cornwall Police kept a cordon around the property while forensic officers worked at the scene, with road closures in place and house-to-house and CCTV checks under way. Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said the force had consulted counter-terrorism policing during the first phase of the inquiry, but the case was not being treated as terrorism. It was too early to say whether the suspect knew Widdecombe, whether the killing was politically motivated or whether burglary had any role in the death, police said.

Police later said they believed Widdecombe had been attacked nearly 24 hours before she was found. Widdecombe served as a Conservative MP from 1987 to 2010, later became prisons minister, and went on to join the Brexit Party before becoming a spokeswoman for Reform UK.