A quiet home on Dartmoor has become the focus of a fast-moving murder investigation after former Conservative MP and MEP Ann Widdecombe was found dead — and police now believe she was attacked almost a full day before her body was discovered.
Devon and Cornwall Police said officers are searching for a suspect believed to be a white male, after concluding Ms Widdecombe was assaulted in her home nearly 24 hours before she was found.
A 26-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murdering Ms Widdecombe has been released from custody and is no longer part of the investigation. Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed the man’s release from custody this morning, following his arrest yesterday.
Ms Widdecome, who was 78, was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor on Thursday after sustaining serious injuries.
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said Ms Widdecombe’s death is being treated as suspicious but “we do not believe there is a wider risk to the public”.
“Our inquiries are moving at pace for a suspect who is believed to be a white male.”
Assistant Chief Constable Longman earlier said: “Our priority remains identifying those responsible and ensuring that all available evidence is thoroughly examined.
“Detectives continue to carry out numerous enquiries as part of the ongoing investigation and we remain committed to establishing the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”
He said the investigation was “moving at a significant pace”, adding: “We are deploying all of the necessary resources to find out exactly what has happened.
“We will release further information when we are able to do so. In the meantime, I would ask people not to speculate about what might have happened, particularly on social media.
“This is not only potentially harmful to our investigation but also deeply distressing for family and friends of Ms Widdecombe. The family have also asked for their privacy to be respected as they come to terms with what has happened.”
Police have also sought to head off broader fears around the case, previously stating her death is “not being treated as terrorism” and that there is “no information” at this time suggesting it was a “politically-motivated crime”.
A long-standing figure in British public life, Ms Widdecombe served as a Conservative MP from 1987 to 2010 for the Kent seat of Maidstone — later Maidstone and the Weald — and held several ministerial roles during John Major’s government.
After leaving Parliament, she remained a familiar face to television audiences, appearing on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2010. Paired with Anton du Beke, she stayed in the contest until the semi-finals, propelled by the public vote.
In 2019, she joined Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party and went on to serve as an MEP for South West England in Brussels between 2019 and 2020.
She later took on the role of immigration and justice spokeswoman for Mr Farage’s Reform UK and continued to be active in the media — appearing on TalkTV on Wednesday, the day before she was found dead.
Ms Widdecombe was also due to be a guest on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright show on Wednesday afternoon, but did not appear, as first reported by ITV.
According to ITV, she had been exchanging messages with a researcher from the programme, but fell silent when the team tried to reach her to join a Zoom call from home.
Calls and texts sent after the programme aired went unanswered, ITV said, and the Channel 5 production team later checked in with her agent on Wednesday and again on Thursday as concerns grew.
