Ms Widdecombe was found dead at home(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The uncle of a man held on suspicion of the murder of Ann Widdecombe has said he “nearly fell to the floor” when he heard about the arrest.
Armed police swooped on his reclusive 28-year-old nephew at his home in Rotherham, South Yorks, on Saturday evening. The relative, 73, who we are not naming, told the BBC: “My legs went like jelly.”
“He’s the last person I would think would do anything like that,” he added. Ex-Tory minister turned Reform UK spokeswoman Ms Widdecombe, 78, is believed to have been attacked at her bungalow in the village of Haytor Vale on the edge of Dartmoor, Devon, on Wednesday last week. Her body was discovered a day later, and she had sustained serious injuries, police said.
CCTV of the suspect being arrested
A white British man arrested on Saturday, is being held on suspicion of murder and on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. Counter terrorism police said on Tuesday they believe she was killed in a “targeted attack”, but they are still working to understand the motive.
The uncle lives near his nephew, but said he had not seen him for about 10 years. He described him as a “quiet and unassuming boy” who was “gentle and polite” and “everything that a shy, young boy would be”. The man said his nephew had been living with his father until his death a few months ago.
Police at the house where the suspect lived(Image: Steve Allen)
A woman who lives near the suspect’s council house home said that she did not see him very often. Courtney Foster said “he used to take his dad out shopping while he was still alive, but since then he never really went out much”.
Ms Foster said she would occasionally see him reading in his garden or taking his rubbish out. She said that since his dad’s death he had shared the home with a family member’s dog.
Devon and Cornwall Police previously said the case was not being treated as terrorism and there was no information to suggest that it was a politically motivated crime. The man from Rotherham was arrested on suspicion of murder on Saturday before being re-arrested on Monday on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
The murder investigation has sparked wider discussion about the safety of MPs. Ms Widdecombe, who was MP for Maidstone, Kent, from 1987 to 2010, was most recently a spokeswoman for Reform UK.
