Brian Melley

Updated July 11, 2026 — 3:00am,first published 1:01am

London: British police have released the man earlier arrested on suspicion of murder of Ann Widdecombe, a former MP turned Reform UK spokeswoman.

The 26-year-old man, who was arrested on Saturday morning (Australian time), has been released from custody and is no longer part of the investigation, Devon and Cornwall Police said in a statement.

Widdecombe, 78, was found dead on Thursday with serious injuries in her Haytor Vale home on the edge of Dartmoor National Park in south-west England.

“Our priority remains identifying those responsible and ensuring that all available evidence is thoroughly examined,” Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said.

“We believe the attack took place on Wednesday 8 July at around 12.30pm. Our enquiries are moving at pace for a suspect who is believed to be a white male.”

He earlier said the killing was not believed to be an act of terror and there was no information to suggest it was politically motivated.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said news of Widdecombe’s death was “shocking”.

“My thoughts, I think all of our thoughts, will be with the family and friends of Ann Widdecombe at this awful time,” Starmer said. “Ann was a distinguished politician over many, many years with many achievements, and it’s a huge, huge loss.”

Widdecombe served in the House of Commons as an MP from 1987 to 2010, known for her socially conservative views opposing abortion rights and expansion of LGBTQ rights, and held several junior ministerial positions in former prime minister John Major’s government.

She found fame after leaving parliament as a contestant on the Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother reality TV shows. Widdecombe defected to Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party in 2019, and later joined its rebranded party Reform UK and became its immigration and justice spokeswoman.

Security has been tightened for politicians after the murders of two serving UK MPs in the past decade. Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.

Speaking to the UK’s Talk TV about Widdecombe’s passing, before news of the murder investigation, Reform leader Farage said she had been a “force of nature … quite a remarkable woman”.

Farage later said he was deeply upset over Widdecombe’s death and noted that “things have become even more dangerous” for people in public life.

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the circumstances of Widdecombe’s death were “extremely distressing”.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson called her a “heroic Brexiteer and a great speaker who could move Tory audiences to such ecstasy that she was a very hard act to follow”.

The management company that represented Widdecombe after she left politics said her life and career were driven by strong Christian values and a commitment to public service.

“She loved the cut and thrust of political debate and, 16 years after leaving Parliament, was still actively campaigning for Reform UK and offering forthright views on the hot topics of the day,” Cloud9 Management said.

“As Ann once said...‘we get one go this side of eternity, one go. Life is not a dress rehearsal, you take opportunities that you like, and you go for it, that’s my philosophy’.”

AP/Reuters

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