Overview
- Devon and Cornwall Police said Miss Widdecombe, 78, was found dead at her Haytor home and had sustained serious injuries, an incident discovered on Thursday, July 9.
- Detectives from the Force Major Crime Investigation Team established a forensic cordon at the property and are conducting house-to-house, CCTV and specialist examinations.
- A 26-year-old white British man was arrested at an address in Newton Abbot and is in police custody on suspicion of murder while enquiries continue.
- Officials including the Home Secretary said the case is not being treated as terrorism and there is no current evidence it was politically motivated, and police have urged the public not to speculate.
- Widdecombe was a long-serving Conservative MP who later sat as a Brexit Party MEP and joined Reform UK; public figures have paid tribute while her family have asked for privacy as the investigation proceeds.