Pro-life former member of UK Parliament murdered; counter-terrorism unit investigating
A former member of United Kingdom Parliament known for her pro-life advocacy was murdered, with a counterterrorism police unit taking over the investigation.
Ann Widdecombe, a 78-year-old former Conservative Party member who served in the U.K. Parliament and the European Parliament, was found dead at her home last Thursday.
An unnamed 28-year-old British man from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was arrested on Saturday in connection with the crime. He also faces charges of suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
The Devon & Cornwall Police announced Monday that the Counter Terrorism Policing unit will head the investigation into Widdecombe's killing.
“[Counter Terrorism Policing South East] will continue to work closely with colleagues from the Devon and Cornwall Police Major Crime Investigation Team and across the Counter Terrorism Policing network in an effort to establish the full circumstances of the incident which led to this murder investigation,” the announcement explains.
Laurence Taylor, head of National Counter Terrorism Policing, said that police “are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry to establish the motivation for this attack.”
“Our priority is progressing this investigation quickly, with all the capabilities we have available to us. If anyone has any information, please share it with the police,” Taylor said in a statement.
“We would like to thank local communities, the wider public and the media for their ongoing support and patience, and would ask them to continue to support us in the next stage of the investigation.”
Widdecombe was elected to the U.K. Parliament in 1987, representing Maidstone and served in the House of Commons until 2010, when she assumed two ministerial positions in the government.
She later served as a member of the European Parliament from 2019 until 2020. Widdecombe became a supporter of the Brexit movement and a member of the right-wing party Reform UK.
According to the group Right to Life UK, Widdecombe had a “strong and consistent pro-life voting record” and was “a leader in the public fight for protections for unborn babies at the beginning of life and the elderly and vulnerable towards the end of life.”
“As early as 1990, in a debate on the Abortion Act 1967, she argued that abortion should not be treated as any other medical intervention and that existing protections for unborn babies should not be eroded further,” stated the pro-life group.
“In 2008, she voted in favour of a series of amendments to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, including an amendment to lower the abortion limit for abortions performed under Section 1(1)(a) of the Abortion Act to 12 weeks.”
Last Thursday morning, authorities discovered Widdecombe's body at her home. While they initially arrested an unnamed 26-year-old for the murder on Friday, he was later released and is no longer considered a suspect.
On Sunday, authorities announced that they had taken an unidentified 28-year-old into custody, with police saying that “at this stage there is nothing to suggest that it was politically motivated.”
