Man arrested on suspicion of murder after Ann Widdecombe found dead | BBC News — Transcript

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1. 0:00Police have said that they've arrested a
2. 0:0126-year-old white man in connection with
3. 0:04the murder of the former government
4. 0:06minister Ann Widdecombe. Devon and
5. 0:08Cornwall police said Ms. Widdecombe was
6. 0:10found at her home on Dartmoor yesterday
7. 0:12morning with serious injuries. Ann
8. 0:15Widdecombe was 78 and a major figure in
9. 0:18the conservative governments of the
10. 0:191990s. She joined Reform UK in 2023. Sir
11. 0:23Keir Starmer said the murder
12. 0:24investigation was really shocking news
13. 0:27and he praised Ms. Widdecombe as a
14. 0:29distinguished politician. The
15. 0:30conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said
16. 0:32she was stunned and that her heart was
17. 0:34breaking for her family. Our first
18. 0:37report tonight is by Helena Wilkinson.
19. 0:40>> It was in her house in Dartmoor where
20. 0:42Ann Widdecombe was found dead yesterday.
21. 0:46In a shocking development this
22. 0:47afternoon, police said they were now
23. 0:49treating her death as murder.
24. 0:51>> We can confirm that a 26-year-old man
25. 0:54was arrested at an address in Newton
26. 0:55Abbot this afternoon on suspicion of the
27. 0:57murder of Ann Widdecombe.
28. 1:00The suspect, who is a white British
29. 1:01national, remains in police custody
30. 1:04whilst inquiries can continue.
31. 1:07Officers were called to Ms. Widdecombe's
32. 1:09home at Haytor by the ambulance service
33. 1:11around 11:40 a.m. on Thursday the 9th of
34. 1:14July.
35. 1:16Sadly, 78-year-old Ms. Widdecombe was
36. 1:19located deceased within the property.
37. 1:22She had sustained serious injuries.
38. 1:24>> This evening, the Prime Minister gave
39. 1:26his reaction to a murder inquiry being
40. 1:29launched into her death.
41. 1:31>> Well, this is really shocking news and
42. 1:35um my thoughts, I think all of our
43. 1:37thoughts will be with the family and
44. 1:39friends of Ann Widdecombe at this awful
45. 1:42time for them.
46. 1:43Uh Ann was a distinguished politician
47. 1:46over many, many years with many
48. 1:48achievements um and it's a huge, huge um
49. 1:51loss.
50. 1:53>> At a defense-related visit in Portsmouth
51. 1:56earlier, the Conservative leader gave
52. 1:58her reaction.
53. 1:59>> I'm I'm stunned.
54. 2:01Uh
55. 2:02to be honest, I don't really have the
56. 2:03words for uh
57. 2:05for what has uh we've we've discovered
58. 2:07has happened. Um Ann Widdecombe was 78
59. 2:10years old. She was a she was a fun and
60. 2:13very feisty person, but she was an
61. 2:14elderly person. I don't understand how
62. 2:17someone could do something like this.
63. 2:18It's a nasty, horrific attack.
64. 2:21>> Neighbors have also been reacting to the
65. 2:24news.
66. 2:25>> I'm devastated. I'm shocked and I just
67. 2:28can't believe it.
68. 2:30Uh in this lovely setting where we live,
69. 2:33it's so peaceful and
70. 2:36I I am just absolutely devastated.
71. 2:40>> Outside Ann Widdecombe's [music] home
72. 2:42this evening, there's a heavy police
73. 2:44presence. Specialist officers are
74. 2:46carrying out forensic investigations in
75. 2:49this murder inquiry, piecing together
76. 2:52exactly how one of the country's most
77. 2:54well-known politicians died.
78. 2:57Helena Wilkinson, BBC News.
79. 3:01>> Our UK correspondent Daniel Sandford is
80. 3:03here with me. Daniel, the police spoke
81. 3:05just before we came on air. Tell us more
82. 3:06about what they said.
83. 3:07>> Yeah, obviously when people heard that
84. 3:09Ann Widdecombe had been murdered, they
85. 3:10started thinking about things like the
86. 3:11murder of Sir David Amess and the murder
87. 3:13of Jo Cox, two very high-profile MPs who
88. 3:17were murdered in the line of of duty.
89. 3:18And the police had to deal with that at
90. 3:21the press conference that they were just
91. 3:23holding. They said that counterterrorism
92. 3:24policing had been consulted early stage
93. 3:26of the inquiry, but at this stage there
94. 3:28is absolutely no suggestion there's
95. 3:30terrorism involved. And then actually
96. 3:32the assistant chief constable reiterated
97. 3:34there's no information he's got that
98. 3:36this is a politically motivated crime.
99. 3:39Uh the police were called to Ann
100. 3:40Widdecombe's house yesterday morning uh
101. 3:43after she was found uh at her home. Uh
102. 3:46the 26-year-old man that's been arrested
103. 3:48was arrested in Newton Abbot. And for
104. 3:49those people who don't know the
105. 3:51geography area, Newton the nearest town
106. 3:53and it's about 12 miles or so from the
107. 3:56property where Ann Widdecombe lived in
108. 3:58this beautiful beautiful setting on
109. 4:00Dartmoor with a pool in the garden, such
110. 4:02a tranquil setting now the scene of
111. 4:04really a horrendous murder.
112. 4:07>> Daniel, thank you. Daniel Sanford there.
113. 4:11Ann Widdecombe had a long career in
114. 4:13politics where she was known for her
115. 4:14forthright views and strong belief in
116. 4:17traditional values. After politics, she
117. 4:19became known to a wider audience through
118. 4:21reality TV taking part in shows such as
119. 4:24Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big
120. 4:26Brother. Nick Eardley looks back at her
121. 4:28life.
122. 4:30>> Ann Widdecombe was a politician who
123. 4:32spoke her mind even when it was
124. 4:35unpopular.
125. 4:36Forthright,
126. 4:37unflinching,
127. 4:39and often adventurous.
128. 4:41She was first elected to Parliament in
129. 4:431987 when Margaret Thatcher was Prime
130. 4:45Minister.
131. 4:46>> It is a great opportunity that we've
132. 4:47been given and like Mr. Speaker, I think
133. 4:50it's a very major trust which we must
134. 4:51discharge.
135. 4:53>> She served as a junior minister under
136. 4:55John Major most notably as prisons
137. 4:57minister where she faced controversy
138. 5:00when it emerged that pregnant women were
139. 5:02being handcuffed in hospital.
140. 5:05She also attacked her former boss at the
141. 5:07Home Office Michael Howard over his
142. 5:09handling of the sacking of a senior
143. 5:11prisons official.
144. 5:13>> We demean our high office
145. 5:16if we mistreat our public servants.
146. 5:18>> She is perfectly entitled to disagree
147. 5:21with my judgment. There is no basis for
148. 5:24her attack on my integrity.
149. 5:28>> She later famously said Howard had
150. 5:30something of the night about him
151. 5:32damaging his chances in the 1997 Tory
152. 5:36leadership campaign.
153. 5:37He though doesn't bear a grudge.
154. 5:40>> I I was very sorry to hear of the of
155. 5:42Ann's passing.
156. 5:44She was a very feisty lady and
157. 5:46we worked together in the Home office.
158. 5:48We did, as you said, have our ups and
159. 5:50downs,
160. 5:51but I was really sorry to hear of her
161. 5:53passing.
162. 5:55>> Widdecombe was a devout Catholic and a
163. 5:57social conservative who opposed
164. 5:58abortion. Her frank approach was
165. 6:01refreshing to some, controversial to
166. 6:03others.
167. 6:05>> I can't possibly tell you what I've got.
168. 6:07>> She left Parliament in 2010.
169. 6:11But soon won over a new generation of
170. 6:13admirers, the first prominent
171. 6:15ex-politician to take part in Strictly
172. 6:18Come Dancing.
173. 6:20>> [music]
174. 6:21[applause]
175. 6:25[cheering]
176. 6:27>> She was also runner-up on the 2018
177. 6:30series of Celebrity Big Brother.
178. 6:33Brexit brought her back to politics. In
179. 6:352019, she was elected an MEP for the
180. 6:38Brexit Party and was expelled by the
181. 6:40Tories for her candidacy.
182. 6:43>> We are going, and we are glad to be
183. 6:46going.
184. 6:48>> She later joined Reform UK, recently
185. 6:50serving as their immigration and justice
186. 6:53spokesperson.
187. 6:55Nigel Farage paid tribute today, saying
188. 6:58the voters loved her. She played a
189. 7:00decisive role in getting Brexit over the
190. 7:02line and will be missed by us all.
191. 7:05Boris Johnson paid tribute too, calling
192. 7:07her a heroic Brexiteer and a great
193. 7:10speaker who could move Tory audiences to
194. 7:13such ecstasy that she was a very hard
195. 7:15act to follow.
196. 7:17Ann Widdecombe will be remembered as a
197. 7:20conviction politician, but also a
198. 7:22colorful character.