{"id":3819,"date":"2026-07-11T19:06:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T14:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=3819"},"modified":"2026-07-11T19:06:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T14:06:21","slug":"u-k-rattled-by-killing-of-politician-ann-widdecombe-as-murder-probe-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=3819","title":{"rendered":"U.K. rattled by killing of politician Ann Widdecombe as murder probe continues"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p id=\"anchor-b7be2c\" class=\"body-graf\">LONDON \u2014 A former British lawmaker was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/world\/united-kingdom\/murder-probe-launched-suspicious-death-prominent-british-ex-politician-rcna385843\" target=\"_blank\">found dead with serious injuries<\/a> at her home Thursday, prompting a murder investigation that has reignited concerns about the safety of the country\u2019s politicians.<\/p>\n<p><button class=\"styles_subscriptionCTA__LOUeY\" id=\"subscriptionCTA\" type=\"button\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,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\" alt=\"NBC News Icon\" class=\"styles_icon__wRwWv\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"styles_textWrapper__vxvko\">\n<p class=\"styles_text__daaVB styles_textLarge__qlzwu\">Subscribe to read this story ad-free<\/p>\n<p class=\"styles_text__daaVB\">Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/rockcms\/2026-01\/arrow-f55fa5.svg\" alt=\"arrow\" class=\"styles_arrow__tnruW\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/button><\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-59232f\" class=\"body-graf\">Ann Widdecombe, 78, was one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/world\/united-kingdom\/starmer-resignation-britain-chaos-brexit-vote-burnham-economy-rcna351117\" target=\"_blank\">Britain\u2019s most recognizable politicians<\/a>, serving as a Conservative member of Parliament for two decades before reinventing herself as a television personality. Known for her strong socially conservative views on abortion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/nbc-out\/out-news\/uk-pride-marches-suspend-political-parties-trans-rights-rcna206527\" target=\"_blank\">and LGBTQ rights<\/a>, she more recently served as justice spokesperson for the hard-right Reform UK party.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-6d583e\" class=\"body-graf\">Police said Friday there is no indication that the killing was politically motivated, but her death has renewed unease about the safety of Britain\u2019s politicians after two others were killed in the last decade.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-f333a4\" class=\"body-graf\">On Saturday, police said a 26-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of murder had been released and was no longer part of the investigation. A large police presence remained outside Widdecombe\u2019s home on Saturday as investigations continued.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-6d4684\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cOur murder enquiry is in its early stages but moving at a significant pace. We are deploying all of the necessary resources to find out exactly what has happened,\u201d Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman of Devon and Cornwall Police said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"styles_inlineImage__FvnTh styles_medium__MEKii\" id=\"anchor-9f0762\"><picture class=\"styles_image__i32F7\" data-testid=\"picture\" data-flavor=\"fit\" data-original-height=\"5504\" data-original-width=\"8256\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260711-widdecombe-2-nd-75fa51.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260711-widdecombe-2-nd-75fa51.jpg 1x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 320px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260711-widdecombe-2-nd-75fa51.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260711-widdecombe-2-nd-75fa51.jpg 1x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260711-widdecombe-2-nd-75fa51.jpg\" alt=\"Police Investigate Death Of Former MP Ann Widdecombe At Her Dartmoor Home\" height=\"5504\" width=\"8256\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"caption styles_caption__TCewG\" data-testid=\"caption\"><span class=\"caption__container\" data-testid=\"caption__container\">Flowers are seen outside the house of Ann Widdecombe in Haytor in Dartmoor, England, on July 11.<\/span><span class=\"caption__source\" data-testid=\"caption__source\">Finnbarr Webster \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"anchor-601261\" class=\"body-graf\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/world\/united-kingdom\/andy-burnham-says-ll-deliver-circuit-breaker-transform-uk-economy-beco-rcna352200\" target=\"_blank\">Outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer<\/a> said it was \u201cshocking news,\u201d while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she was \u201cstunned\u201d and \u201creally struggled to find the words.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-10d140\" class=\"body-graf\">Britain\u2019s interior minister Shabana Mahmood said the circumstances of Widdecombe\u2019s death were \u201cextremely distressing\u201d and urged the public \u201cto avoid speculation and allow the police investigation to progress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-f69ac2\" class=\"body-graf\">But Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, said he feared that \u201cfor anybody in public life, or especially the political space, things have become even more dangerous to them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-a44115\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cWe don\u2019t know what political motives are, whether they exist at all,\u201d he said. \u201cWas it a burglary gone wrong? We just don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-49e228\" class=\"body-graf\">Farage received a \u00a35 million ($6.7 million) gift in early 2024 from crypto billionaire donor Christopher Harborne, which he initially said in June 2026 was for his personal security, adding that he will need protection \u201cuntil the day that I die.\u201d He later said the gift was \u201cunconditional.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-f69999\" class=\"body-graf\">Britain\u2019s parliamentary standards commissioner is investigating whether Farage broke the rules by not declaring the gift, which was made months before he became a member of Parliament.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-3643c7\" class=\"body-graf\">For others, Widdecombe\u2019s death sparked memories of the murders over the last decade of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/jo-cox-british-lawmaker-shot-stabbed-yorkshire-reports-n593581\" target=\"_blank\">politicians Jo Cox<\/a> and David Amess.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-b24cba\" class=\"body-graf\">Cox\u2019s husband, Brendan Cox, said Widdecombe\u2019s death brought back \u201call of the pain and emotion\u201d of losing his wife, a Labour MP who was murdered in 2016.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-4612ac\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cWe obviously don\u2019t know and can\u2019t speculate on the motivation, rationale and motive for the attack,\u201d he wrote in Britain\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/politics\/ann-widdecombe-murder-jo-cox-37416686\" target=\"_blank\">Daily Mirror newspaper<\/a>. \u201cBut what we can say is that there is nothing that could ever justify an attack like this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-61378c\" class=\"body-graf\">Cox, 41, known for social justice campaigns and seen as a rising star in Britain\u2019s Labour Party, was stabbed 15 times and received three gunshot wounds in a 2016 attack outside her constituency office in the town of Birstall in West Yorkshire, northern England.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-991f6f\" class=\"body-graf\">Cox was a high-profile supporter of the campaign to stay in the European Union and to keep the debate from being hijacked by immigration. Thomas Mair, convicted in her murder, repeatedly shouted \u201cBritain first\u201d during the attack, the trial heard.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-8161e8\" class=\"body-graf\">Five years later, Conservative lawmaker Amess <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/now\/video\/british-lawmaker-david-amess-stabbed-to-death-while-meeting-with-public-123648581788\" target=\"_blank\">was stabbed multiple times<\/a> in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group. Ali Harbi Ali was given a whole-life sentence for the murder in 2022.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-5bf609\" class=\"body-graf\">While the details of Widdecombe\u2019s death remain unclear, it \u201ccertainly comes within the backdrop of MPs\u2019 safety becoming more and more of a concern,\u201d said Andrew Barclay, a politics lecturer at the University of Sheffield.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-1a7a8b\" class=\"body-graf\">Beyond Cox and Amess, he added, other reported crimes against MPs \u201chave more than doubled since the 2019 general election, and there have been several other notable cases of harassment since then, both physically and at scale over social media,\u201d he told NBC News.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-fe43a1\" class=\"body-graf\">Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, said the U.K. was \u201cgenerally, an unviolent society,\u201d yet \u201calmost we\u2019ve had two MPs killed in the last 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-01993a\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cWe\u2019re also a more politically polarized place than ever we used to be,\u201d he said, and politicians have \u201calso had to get used to people threatening them online and in person on the campaign trail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-f4ac9b\" class=\"body-graf\">While it\u2019s possible to exaggerate the risk, he added, \u201cthey are right to worry and right to ask for protection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-cfca23\" class=\"body-graf\">The alarm was raised over Widdecombe on Wednesday when she failed to turn up for a remote television interview, Channel 5 presenter Dan Walker said on X.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-a44d87\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cAnn was due to appear on 5 Daytime on Wednesday afternoon but stopped responding to messages and didn\u2019t turn up for the show,\u201d he said. \u201cThe team contacted her agent to ask them to check in on her. This information has been passed to police as it\u2019s part of the investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-d39a97\" class=\"body-graf\">The management company that represented Widdecombe after she left politics said her life and career were driven by strong Christian values and a commitment to public service.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-2bd34c\" class=\"endmark body-graf\">\u201cShe loved the cut and thrust of political debate and, 16 years after leaving Parliament, was still actively campaigning for Reform UK and offering forthright views on the hot topics of the day,\u201d Cloud9 Management said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LONDON \u2014 A former British lawmaker was found dead with serious injuries at her home Thursday, prompting a murder investigation that has reignited concerns about the safety of the country\u2019s politicians. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. Ann Widdecombe, 78, was one of Britain\u2019s most recognizable&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_nbcnews-fp-1200-630,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260711-widdecombe-nd-0e69fc.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}