British police make new arrest in Ann Widdecombe murder investigation

Police arrest 28-year-old suspect in South Yorkshire in connection with the murder of former MP Ann Widdecombe.British police have arrested a 28-year-old man in connection with the murder of former politician and reality TV contestant Ann Widdecombe.Devon and Cornwall Police said late on Saturday that the suspect was arrested in South Yorkshire county in northern England, about 320km (200 miles) from her village, Haytor, in the southwest, where Widdecombe was found dead on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3UK police confront Morocco fans over unrest after World Cup losslist 2 of 3Police probe donations to Britain’s far-right Reform partylist 3 of 3Could far-right Reform really win a UK general election now?end of listEarlier, police released a 26-year-old man arrested on Friday a few miles from the scene of the attack, saying he was no longer under investigation. The force said detectives are working “at a significant pace” to find the killer, and they do not believe there is a risk to the public.Widdecombe, 78, was found dead in her isolated rural home in Haytor on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. Police did not disclose a cause of death, only saying she had sustained “serious injuries”.Police said they believe Widdecombe was attacked at about 12:30pm on Wednesday. Concerns were raised for her after she failed to appear for a scheduled TV interview on Wednesday afternoon.They said counterterrorism officers supported local police in carrying out Saturday’s arrest, but there is “no information to suggest that this is a terrorism-related incident”.Security has been tightened for politicians after the murders of two serving members of parliament in the past decade. Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the ISIL (ISIS) group.Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party to which Widdecombe belonged, said staff had searched party emails to check for patterns of abuse directed at her, but had found nothing.