A murder investigation has been launched after the 78-year-old former Conservative MP and prison minister was found dead with serious injuries at his home in southwest England on Thursday.
"This is truly shocking news, and my thoughts, I think all of our thoughts, go out to Ann Widdecombe's family and friends at this terrible time," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.
At a press conference, police said that a white British man is in custody on suspicion of the crime.
The incident is not being investigated as terrorism and there is no information to suggest that it was politically motivated, police say.
Ann Widdecombe was a Conservative minister at the Home Office and the Department of Employment and Social Affairs from 1994 to 1997 under Prime Minister John Major. In 2019, she became a member of the European Parliament for the Brexit Party, according to the BBC .
Widdecombe was the Member of Parliament for Maidstone in Kent for 23 years, from 1987 to 2010. She was known for being socially conservative and opposed abortion and LGBTI rights.
