British police have arrested a 26-year-old man on suspicion of the murder of Ann Widdecombe, a former government minister whose death was announced on Friday.
Widdecombe was found dead at her home in Devon, UK, during the morning of Thursday, 9 July. Police said she had sustained serious injuries.
Devon and Cornwall Police said a 26-year-old white British male is being held in custody pending further investigations.
The incident is not being treated as terrorism and there is no suggestion it was politically motivated, they say.
Widdecombe became a household name through her career as a Conservative politician, where she was unafraid to voice her traditional views on moral issues. She later found a new audience as a contestant on the popular BBC reality show Strictly Come Dancing.
Kemi Badenoch paid tribute to Widdecombe as a "formidable politician" in a statement on social media.
"My deepest condolences and those of the Conservative Party to the family and friends of Ann Widdecombe. Always true to herself, her politics were strongly guided by her faith and her values," she wrote.
Nigel Farage said Widdecombe would be "missed by us all" in a post on social media.
"When Ann Widdecombe decided to stand for The Brexit Party in the snap 2019 European Elections, it was a big moment and huge boost. The voters loved her," he added.
A prominent Eurosceptic and Vote Leave campaigner, Widdecombe joined Farage's right-wing populist party, Reform UK, in 2023 to serve as its immigration and justice spokesperson. She also campaigned for the party's candidates during the U.K.'s 2024 general election.
Widdecombe was outspoken in defending her traditional views. During her parliamentary career, she opposed abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights. As Shadow Home Secretary between 1999 and 2001, she advocated a "zero tolerance" approach to illegal drugs.
In 1996, while serving as prisons minister in the Conservative government of John Major, she defended a policy of shackling pregnant inmates to their hospital beds.
After standing down as MP for Maidstone in south-east England in 2010, Widdecombe reinvented herself as a television personality through her appearance on Strictly Come Dancing. Despite consistently low scores from the judges, she was voted through by the public to the quarter-finals.
She was the runner-up in the 2018 series of Celebrity Big Brother, losing to Australian drag queen Courtney Act, who repeatedly challenged Widdecombe on her views on LGBTQ+ rights during the programme.
Widdecombe's Christian faith was central to her life. She converted to Roman Catholicism in 1993 after the Church of England decided to ordain women as priests.
She never married and said she was "proud" to call herself a spinster, professing no interest in sex.
Demonstrators carrying Iranian flags and placards supporting the hijab gathered outside the Azerbaijani Embassy...
A Chinese-made AI chip has matched Nvidia’s H200 in tests conducted by its developer, marking a potential breakthrough in China’s effor...
China’s GJ-21 carrier-based stealth reconnaissance and strike drone has completed its first take-off and landing on board the Sichuan, the co...
The Middle East conflict remains tense as diplomatic efforts continue alongside renewed Houthi attacks. Iran says it remains open to mediation, while the Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the kingdom.
Rescuers searched the wreckage of two high-speed trains in central Spain on Thursday as the death toll rose to a provisional 74, making it the country's second fatal high-speed rail disaster this year.
Evacuations and the provision of humanitarian aid in the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky have begun, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday. In a statement on Telegram, David Arakhamia said a six-day ceasefire was holding, and that more details would follow.
Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday as part of efforts to reach a deal between the U.S. and Iran, according to an official briefed on the talks.
UN human rights experts comprising a group including Special Rapporteurs and independent experts who are part of the UN Human Rights Council, have criticised French authorities over their handling of nationwide student protests.
China’s GJ-21 carrier-based stealth reconnaissance and strike drone has completed its first take-off and landing on board the Sichuan, the country’s first Type 076 amphibious assault ship, state media reported on 30 October.
A powerful El Niño is driving extreme weather worldwide, leaving millions facing drought, wildfires and destructive storms as governments scramble to respond to the growing crisis.
A high-speed train involved in Wednesday's deadly collision in Spain was travelling at between 160 and 200 kilometres per hour, far above the 40 km/h safety limit, according to a preliminary investigation published on Friday.
Evacuations and the provision of humanitarian aid in the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky have begun, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday. In a statement on Telegram, David Arakhamia said a six-day ceasefire was holding, and that more details would follow.
Hackers have pulled off a staggering $6.3 billion cryptocurrency heist targeting Binance, shaking confidence in one of the world's biggest digital asset exchanges and sending crypto prices tumbling. U.S. analysts suspect North Korea was behind the attack.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment