Police have opened a murder investigation after former politician Ann Widdecombe, 78, was found dead at her home on Dartmoor.
What happened
Authorities say officers were called by the ambulance service on Thursday morning to a property in Haytor, a village on Dartmoor in Devon, where Widdecombe was discovered with serious injuries. Her management team announced her death on Friday morning, and later that day Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed they had launched a homicide inquiry and named a suspect of interest.
The investigation is ongoing and police have given limited public detail about the circumstances surrounding her death. Her management said they were devastated by the development and described the previous 24 hours as traumatic and upsetting.
Suspect and police appeal
Detectives are searching for a suspect they believe to be a white male. Officers have asked anyone who was in or near Haytor Vale and Haytor, or anyone with CCTV, doorbell or dashcam footage from the area, to contact them. Extra uniformed officers have been deployed locally to support enquiries and reassure residents.
A senior investigating officer urged anyone with information, however small it may seem, to come forward. Police described the inquiry as moving at pace and thanked the community for any assistance.
Who was Ann Widdecombe
Ann Widdecombe was born in Bath in 1947. She studied Latin at Birmingham University and then read philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford. She served as the Conservative MP for Maidstone for 23 years and held frontbench roles, including posts at the Home Office and in employment in John Major’s government from 1994 to 1997.
After leaving Parliament she took part in television and entertainment, appearing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010 and Celebrity Big Brother in 2018. She later served as an MEP for the Brexit Party representing South West England from 2019 to 2020. In 2023 she joined Reform UK and made appearances as the party’s immigration and justice spokeswoman.
What we do not yet know
Police have not published a motive, a full description of the suspect beyond ethnicity, or other key details about how or when she sustained the injuries. The inquiry remains active and further updates will be released by Devon and Cornwall Police as enquiries progress.
