LIVERPOOL, England (OSV News) — The murder of a famous Catholic politician who was bludgeoned to death in the kitchen of her home is now being investigated by Counter Terrorism Police in what looks like a shift from previous cautious statements of investigators.
The body of Ann Widdecombe, a former Conservative Party government minister, was discovered in her secluded country house in Haytor, in southwestern England’s Devon region, on the afternoon of July 9, some 24 hours after she was attacked.
The murder of the 78-year-old politician, author and celebrity comes nearly five years after her close friend David Amess, a Conservative Member of Parliament, was stabbed to death by Ali Harbi Ali because of his support for air strikes against Islamic terrorists in Syria.
Widdecombe failed to appear on program via Zoom
Police believe Widdecombe was murdered at about 12.30 p.m. on July 8. Her body was discovered after she failed to appear on a Channel 5 television program via Zoom and her agent was alerted by producers.
Devon and Cornwall Police announced July 12 that officers had arrested a 28-year-old British white man the previous day in Rotherham, Yorkshire, some 300 miles and a four-hour drive from Widdecombe’s home.
Under British law, crime suspects must be charged within 24 hours of arrest, though in serious cases, such as murder, police can apply for extensions of up to 96 hours. When terrorism is suspected, a suspect may be held for up to two weeks without being charged.
Widdecombe, who never married, was elected as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Maidstone, Kent, in 1987 and from the beginning of her political career supported several attempts to restrict access to late abortions.
Became a Catholic in 1992
In 1992, she left the Church of England for the Roman Catholic Church over her opposition to the ordination of women as priests. She was received into the Catholic faith at Westminster Cathedral in London by Cardinal Basil Hume.
In 1995, Widdecombe was appointed Home Office minister for prisons and immigration in the government of Prime Minister John Major. She served as shadow home secretary after the Labour Party of Tony Blair came to power in 1997.
Writing on X July 10, her friend Lord Alton of Liverpool, a Catholic, said Widdecombe was motivated principally by her “faith and her intensely patriotic love of country.”
She served in a ceremonial leadership role of the Catholic Writers’ Guild in the 1990s and in 2013 was appointed a papal dame.
Catholic Bishop Nicholas Hudson of Plymouth, the diocese in which Widdecombe lived, issued a July 10 statement saying: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Ann Widdecombe at this distressing time.”
Mass at Benedictine monastery near her home
The following day he offered a Mass for the repose of her soul at Buckfast Abbey, a Benedictine monastery close to her home in Devon.
A Mass was also offered for Widdecombe at Westminster Cathedral by Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster.
“We pray for her family and friends at this time,” said Archbishop Moth in a statement posted on the website of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. “May she rest in peace.”
Widdecombe stood down from Parliament in 2010 when she also refused the offer from Prime Minister David Cameron to serve as the British ambassador to the Holy See.
Instead, she became a household name by appearing regularly on television shows including “Strictly Come Dancing,” “Celebrity Big Brother,” “Celebrity Fit Club” and “Have I Got News For You.”
She was a weekly columnist for the Daily Express newspaper and wrote four novels, and she acted in pantomimes.
Joined the Brexit Party in 2019
Widdecombe returned to politics when she abandoned the Conservative Party for the Brexit Party in 2019 in protest at the failure of Prime Minister Theresa May to leave the European Union following the referendum on membership three years earlier. In 2019 she was elected as a member of the European Parliament for South West England.
In 2023, she joined Reform UK, the right-wing party led by Nigel Farage, which is opposed to mass migration, and served as spokesperson for immigration and justice policies.
In a July 10 statement posted on the Reform UK website and on X, Farage described Widdecombe as “an extraordinary woman,” saying she was “without doubt, the best-known and most outstanding female politician in Britain since Margaret Thatcher.”
Farage said: “She was a devout Christian and somebody with strong socially conservative views — perhaps not popular in the top circles of modern Britain, but Ann stood up for what she believed, regardless of fashion.
Knew ‘what she believed was right’
“Ann could stand on a stage and give a speech to any crowd. She didn’t need prompts or notes. She knew in her heart and her mind what she believed was right. And people responded.”
He continued: “I watched her interacting with drivers, waiters and waitresses. She was kind to everybody. This was somebody who gave her life to public service and to fighting for the things that she believed in. She herself would not have harmed a fly.”
“I’m deeply shocked and upset by the nature of her death,” he added. “It was a truly dreadful way to die and a terrible reflection on modern Britain.”
Simon Caldwell writes for OSV News from Liverpool, England.
