Ann Widdecombe murder latest: Police say no suggestion of political motive as 28-year-old suspect arrested

Ann Widdecombe murder latest: Police say no suggestion of political motive as 28-year-old suspect arrested Police arrest 28-year-old man on suspicion of Ann Widdecombe’s murder on Saturday evening - Bookmark Police have said there is currently “nothing to suggest” that Ann Widdecombe’s murder was terrorism-related or politically motivated. Devon and Cornwall Police assistant chief constable, Matt Longman, said detectives remain open-minded about the motive, adding: “At this stage there is nothing to suggest it was politically motivated.” Police said a 28-year-old white British man was arrested in South Yorkshire on the evening of 11 July at an address in Rotherham in connection with the murder and remains in custody. Widdecombe, 78, was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor after police believe she was attacked on Wednesday lunchtime. A man was seen leaving an address linked to the suspect and then putting a “wooden stick” in a car before driving away on the morning of her death, according to reports. On Sunday, amid substantial police presence in the Kimberworth Park area of Rotherham, The Telegraph reported it had seen CCTV footage that showed a man leaving an address linked to the suspect on Wednesday morning. The man was said to have been seen putting “some kind of wooden stick” into the passenger side of a red car before driving off, the newspaper reported. Widdecombe murder speculation is ‘unhelpful and distressing’, police say Senior police officers and politicians have urged restraint and warned against speculation over the murder investigation of Ann Widdecombe after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described her death as “premeditated murder”. Assistant chief constable of Devon and Cornwall police, 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 for anyone else in connection with this murder. “At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that it was politically motivated.” Longman added: “We are aware of online and public speculation, particularly with regards to motive. Again, I urge people not to share or engage with that speculation. It’s unhelpful.“It doesn’t aid our investigation, and particularly, it’s distressing to the family and friends of Ms Widdecombe.” Farage had earlier said that the case demonstrated that for “people now in public life, especially in politics, the world is very much more dangerous than it’s ever been, whatever the outcome of the motives of the killer”. Reform UK reviewing emails sent to Widdecombe to check for any threats Reform UK is reviewing emails sent to Ann Widdecombe in the weeks before her alleged murder to determine whether they contained any threats against her, The Telegraph reports. Police, meanwhile, say that there is currently no evidence that Widdecombe's killing was politically motivated or terrorism-related. Police have said a 28-year-old man arrested in Rotherham on suspicion of murder remains in custody. Detectives added that they are not seeking anyone else in connection with the investigation and have found no evidence of any wider threat to the public. ICYMI: Neighbours describe police arrest on Saturday night Neighbours in Byrley Road in Rotherham have told how police arrived at a terraced property just before the kick-off of the England World Cup match on Saturday night. A number of units arrived and officers took a red car from the driveway at about 3am. On Sunday evening, a South Yorkshire Police Tactical Support Group van was parked outside the house with at least two other marked vehicles, and forensics officers in white overalls were going in and out of the property. One neighbour said: “It all happened just before the match. “When we came home from watching it there were just two plain police cars there but everyone says there were loads more here before that.” A woman said: “Nothing happens on this street. We’ve been here 12 years and nothing has ever happened.” Police launch murder enquiry following death of Ann Widdecombe Police have said that a 28-year-old man was arrested at an address in the South Yorkshire area on the evening of 11 July "on suspicion of the murder of Ann Widdecombe". "The suspect, who is a white British national, is now in police custody. "Miss Widdecombe’s family have been informed of this development. "We were supported by Counter Terrorism Policing North East and South Yorkshire Police who carried out the arrest on behalf of Devon & Cornwall Police. “At this time, there is still no information to suggest that this is a terrorism related incident and as a force we retain primacy of the investigation.” ‘Is everything ok?’: Ann Widdecombe’s final messages revealed Ann Widdecombe stopped responding to text messages just moments before police believe she was attacked. The former Tory minister had been preparing to appear remotely as a guest on Channel 5's Matt Allwright show when she suddenly stopped responding to a producer, according to ITV News. WhatsApp exchanges seen by the broadcaster show the last message from Ms Widdecombe came at 12:19pm, reading: “Received! Panic over!!” The texts show Ms Widdecombe read a 12:19pm reply suggesting that she message again if she had any issues, but did not open a further message timestamped 12:48pm asking her to join a Zoom meeting. Five minutes later the chat show’s producer tried to call her, followed by a delivered but unread message asking: “Hi Ann is everything okay?” Two more voice calls went without answer at 1:05pm and 1:14pm. Allwright said on his show at 1:27pm that Ms Widdecombe was supposed to appear as a guest but had not turned up. In focus: Inside Ann Widdecombe’s quiet Dartmoor life – a world away from Westminster politics and celebrity culture When the residents of Haytor Vale first heard police sirens on Thursday morning they assumed there had been an accident on the moors. Surrounded by the imposing granite outcrops of Haytor and Hound Tor, scene of the haunting Sir Arthur Conan Doyle crime novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, villagers are far more accustomed to the warning signs that Dartmoor Search and Rescue are passing through than those of armed police vans. Most people in the village never lock their doors and in a heatwave, even ground floor windows of the 25 or so mostly-detached, well-maintained houses in Haytor village are left open for days on end. Like many residents, Ann Widdecombe moved to the beautiful village, with views for miles across to the Teign estuary, to get away from it all, setting herself up “for the rest of my days” in a bungalow she named ‘Widdecombe’s Rest’. "A lot of people think it means rest, as in having a rest,” she once told an interviewer at local news site DevonLive with a trademark grin. “But what it actually means is the rest of Widdecombe’s life!” Her bungalow, purchased for an estimated £600,000 in 2008, sits at a quiet crossroads at the top of the village surrounded by expansive well-kept lawns, with an outdoor swimming pool complete with slide at the back of the house, with she reportedly had built with the money she earned from her appearance on Strictly Come Dancing with Anton du Beke in 2010. But despite living in a tiny community with just a handful of neighbours, the 78-year-old former Tory MP and prisons minister played a limited role in village life. Read more: