Ann Widdecombe was attacked nearly 24 hours before she was found dead, police reveal in latest update
Police believe Ann Widdecombe was attacked in her home nearly 24 hours before she was found dead and are hunting for a suspect.
The 78-year-old was found at her home in Hayton on Dartmoor on Thursday (9 July) after sustaining injuries.
She had reportedly been scheduled to appear as a guest on Channel 5's Matt Allwright show on Wednesday afternoon but didn't appear or respond to messages.
In a new update today, Devon and Cornwall Police's Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said Widdecombe’s death is being treated as suspicious but 'we do not believe there is a wider risk to the public'.
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He said: “We believe the attack took place on Wednesday July 8 at around 12.30pm.
“Our inquiries are moving at pace for a suspect who is believed to be a white male.”
Earlier this morning, police confirmed that a man who was arrested on suspicion of murder on Friday had been released and is no longer part of the investigation.
Widdecombe was a former Conservative MP, Brexit Party MEP and subsequently had become a Reform UK spokeswoman.
She made her final public appearance on Wednesday via remote video link on TalkTV.
ITV News first reported that Widdecombe was then due to be a guest, again via video call from her home, on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright show at 1pm the same day.
A researcher is believed to have spoken to the former Strictly Come Dancing contestant in the afternoon to set up this interview.
After that call, they exchanged messages with Widdecombe and her last message was received at 12:19pm.
But when the researcher messaged the former MP again at 12:48, asking her to join the Zoom link in preparation for the interview, she didn't reply.
Voice calls and messages to ask if everything was ok then remained unanswered.
As Widdecombe was a regular on the show, the research team became concerned by her 'uncharacteristic lack of response'. They contacted her agent later on Wednesday and followed up again on Thursday, when she was found by emergency services.
Dan Walker, of Channel 5 also clarified the efforts to get in touch with her ahead of the scheduled call.
"Really sad news about Ann Widdecombe. Horrible to think about what she went through. To clarify something we said on the programme tonight… Ann was due to appear on 5 Daytime on Wednesday afternoon but stopped responding to messages and didn't turn up for the show," he wrote on X.
“The team contacted her agent to ask them to check in on her. This information has been passed to police as it's part of the investigation.”
Devon and Cornwall Police previously said the case of her death is 'not being treated as terrorism' and there is 'no information' at this time to suggest it was a 'politically-motivated crime'.
The force has asked people not to speculate about what might have happened, particularly on social media.
Jess Battison