Widdecombe suspect accused of driving almost 480km to her home ‘with wooden pole’

London: A man suspected of murdering former UK government minister Ann Widdecombe is believed to have driven nearly 480 kilometres to her home in south-west England with a “wooden pole” on the morning of her death, London’s Telegraph can disclose.

The former Tory MP, who defected to the Brexit Party in 2019 and later joined Reform, was found dead at her bungalow in Haytor, Devon, on Thursday morning (UK time) after sustaining serious injuries.

Police believe she was killed nearly 24 hours earlier, at about midday on Wednesday, and have arrested a 28-year-old man in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on suspicion of her murder. Devon and Cornwall Police said investigators were not looking for anyone else.

CCTV footage seen by The Telegraph appears to show a young man leaving an address linked to the suspect.

The video was taken about 7am on Wednesday, the day on which it is thought the former Tory MP was murdered. Widdecombe’s remote Devonshire home is approximately a four-hour drive from where the suspect was arrested.

Neighbours said they saw the man putting “some kind of wooden pole” into the passenger side of a red car before driving off.

Forensic officers were seen entering a terraced house in Rotherham on Sunday morning, with a police cordon and several marked vehicles guarding the scene.

Courtney Foster, 25, who lives on the road in the town’s Kimberworth Park suburb, said the young man rarely left the property.

“He rarely comes out of the house; his dad used to do everything for him, and I don’t know what he did for a living,” she said. “I think once his dad died he went a bit loopy.”

She said the arrest was “really loud”, and said: “They took his dog as well – I think it was a labradoodle.”

Other neighbours said the suspect had lived in the property for at least a year, might have had learning difficulties and was the youngest of three sons.

His mother is thought to have once worked as a teaching assistant.

One neighbour, who said her child had gone to school with at least one of the boys, said: “They were three lovely boys as children, all very well brought up.

“At school he was timid, well-mannered, reserved.”

Describing the arrest, another neighbour said: “Loads of unmarked police cars and loads of people ran into the house. I feel quite sick to tell you the truth.”

CCTV footage of the suspect’s arrest was published on Sunday night by The Sun. It shows officers in balaclavas entering the property and arresting the suspect, who got into the police van without a struggle.

At a press conference on Sunday, Devon and Cornwall Police said there was no suggestion “at this stage” that the alleged murder was politically motivated.

Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said: “At this point, there is still no information to suggest that this is a terrorism-related incident, and at this point we are not looking at anyone else in connection with this murder.

“Detectives remain open-minded about the potential motive. At this stage, there is nothing to suggest it was politically motivated.”

However, Reform sources questioned whether the suspect might have been motivated by Widdecombe’s politics.

“It is clear to everybody that we are being gaslit by the police,” one source said.

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said: “In order to assuage any concern, keep us updated at least once a day.”

Reform is reviewing emails sent to Widdecombe in the weeks before her death in search of any threats against her life.

The party has also committed to providing round-the-clock security to its MPs following her death, and warned Labour MPs ahead of an amendment restricting party finances being tabled in the House of Commons on Monday.

Senior Labour backbenchers will this week seek to cap political donations at either £1 million ($1.9 million) or £100,000 when the government’s flagship elections bill returns to the Commons.

Nigel Farage’s party claimed that such a move would leave it without the funds necessary to provide security for its eight MPs.

A Reform source said: “If Labour MPs pass these amendments, it will ensure that Reform MPs are left without security, as none is currently provided by the state and is paid for by the party – which is funded by donors.

“Labour MPs will be voting to put the lives of Reform politicians in danger, less than a week after the [alleged] murder of a Reform politician.”

On Sunday afternoon, senior figures from Reform UK and their supporters laid flowers near Widdecombe’s home.

Tice said: “We have lost an absolute colossus. A legend in our lifetime. Ann Widdecombe was unique. She was adored by millions.”

Widdecombe was a Tory MP from 1987 to 2010 for the Kent constituency of Maidstone – later Maidstone and the Weald – and held several ministerial positions in John Major’s government.

She defected to the Brexit Party in protest against Britain’s failure to leave the European Union, and later became a spokeswoman for Farage’s party.

The Telegraph, London

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