From the Daily Mail
The murder of Ann Widdecombe is now being treated as terrorism, police revealed today.
Specialist officers from Counter Terrorism Policing have taken over the investigation into the death of the 78-year-old former minister in Devon last week.
A 28-year-old white British man from Rotherham was arrested on suspicion of murder on Saturday. The suspect was captured on CCTV climbing into his car with what appeared to be a large baton or pole more than a foot long bulging from his left pocket on the day she was allegedly beaten to death.
The suspect, who the Daily Mail is not naming, was arrested after a dozen armed officers descended on his council house in South Yorkshire. Until today, Devon and Cornwall Police had insisted there was no evidence to suggest the killing was politically motivated.
But in a dramatic twist, the suspect has now been re-arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) said new information and evidence had come to light, prompting it to take over the investigation. The nature of that new evidence or information has not been revealed.
Specialist officers from across the UK Counter Terrorism Policing network have been working alongside Devon and Cornwall Police since a murder inquiry was launched last week.
Laurence Taylor, the head of National Counter Terrorism Policing, said: ‘Building on the progress made by our colleagues in Devon and Cornwall Police, we now have new information and evidence that means Counter Terrorism Policing is leading the investigation. We are pursuing multiple lines of inquiry to establish the motivation for this attack.
‘Our priority is to progress this investigation as quickly as possible, using all the capabilities available to us. If anyone has information, we urge them to contact police.
On the day Ms Widdecombe died, the suspect was filmed climbing into a red hatchback before allegedly travelling some 267 miles – a journey of around five hours – to her remote property.
Police believe the former Tory minister, who was found dead the following morning, was killed shortly after midday on Wednesday.
Neighbours described the man held over her death as recluse and an unemployed ‘loner’ who rarely left home.
The added that he had become increasingly introverted following his father’s death last year.
But early on Wednesday morning, the suspect, who lived alone, was spotted on CCTV leaving his terraced home and getting into a run-down vehicle parked on the driveway.
‘He comes out of the house and walks towards the red car,’ said a neighbour familiar with the footage, which has been shared with police.
Other neighbours said the man’s red Vauxhall Corsa ‘barely moved’ from the drive – to the extent it had begun to rust with weeds growing on it.
One Response
In England where everything is policied except crime.
The UK makes great detective shows – the perps are never Muslims, Marxists or Africans. Those are the victims and they also play the Detective Chief Inspectors and regular police. Most often these same police are women though white businessmen or their wives are always apprehended at the show ends.