London, United Kingdom. British counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation into the suspected murder of former government minister Ann Widdecombe, Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said on Monday. Widdecombe, 78, was found dead at her rural southwest England home on Thursday.
Investigation transferred
Police said Widdecombe had suffered “serious injuries”. A white British man was arrested in Rotherham, northern England, late on Saturday.
Mahmood said on X that counter-terrorism police had assumed responsibility for the investigation following new information and evidence.
“The police are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry to establish the motivation for this attack,” she said, adding that she would update lawmakers in parliament later on Monday.
The BBC reported, citing counter-terrorism police, that the suspect had been rearrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
Political career and tributes
Widdecombe’s death, announced on Friday, prompted tributes from across Britain’s political spectrum, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage, who described her as “an extraordinary woman”.
She was known for her socially conservative views, serving as a junior minister under Conservative Prime Minister John Major between 1992 and 1997. She later became an immigration and justice spokesperson for Farage’s populist Reform UK.
Widdecombe converted to Catholicism partly in protest at the Church of England’s ordination of women as priests. She opposed abortion and the equalisation of the age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual relationships.