Police have opened a murder investigation after Ann Widdecombe was discovered at her Devon home with a head wound and covered in blood.
Officers were called to the 78-year-old former minister’s property on Dartmoor at around 11.40am yesterday, where she was found with what police described as “serious injuries”.
News of the former Conservative Party minister’s death was first confirmed by her agent this morning, with no initial indication that the circumstances were being treated as suspicious.
However, Devon and Cornwall Police later issued an update saying detectives now believe Ms Widdecombe was murdered.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the circumstances surrounding Ms Widdecombe’s death as “extremely distressing”, adding: “My thoughts are with Ann’s family and loved ones.”
Police attended the property and spoke to a carer who worked for Ms Widdecombe and is understood to have discovered her body. Investigators are now working to determine whether she may have died after a fall or whether she was attacked.
A formidable figure in British public life, Ms Widdecombe built a long political career as an outspoken and uncompromising voice on the Conservative right.
A Catholic convert, she became widely known for her strong views on moral and social issues, including abortion and same-sex marriage, as well as her hardline stance on drugs.
She backed Brexit and ferociously argued that ‘there is no need for Britain to suffer’ net zero policies and claimed the science of climate change is ‘robustly disputed’.
In 2023, she joined Reform UK and became a vocal supporter of Nigel Farage, appearing on TV to back the party leader ahead of the Clacton by-election just two days ago.
Ann Widdecombe appearing on Talk TV on Wednesday. Her death was announced this morning
Ms Widdecombe pictured in the garden of her house on Dartmoor on May 24, 2013
A picture of the front of the house, where she is believed to have suffered a serious head wound
While Ms Widdecombe was a formidable figure within politics, she became known to a much wider audience thanks to her appearances as a contestant on Strictly and Celebrity Big Brother.
Her agents, Cloud 9 Management, said in a statement this morning: ‘It is with great sadness that today we announce the death of The Right Honourable Ann Widdecombe DSG.
‘We send our deepest condolences to Ann’s family and friends.’
Mr Farage was among those paying tribute to Ms Widdecombe today, calling her an ‘absolute force of nature’.
The Reform UK leader told TalkTV: ‘She never let anyone… with any doubt in their minds at all where she stood on all the great issues of the day, and she was formidable too.
‘I mean, I can tell you, the times when I used to get a phone call from Ann, abrupt Ann on the phone, saying she disagreed with what I’d done or what I’d said.
‘And you know, she’d come to London and we’d sit down over a coffee and talk things through. But that was the thing about Ann: that all the disagreements she had with us over policy and direction and all the normal debate, that was always kept behind closed doors.
‘You know, in public, she was the most incredibly loyal ally.’
Ms Widdecombe during an appearance on Strictly Come Dancing. She was partnered with Anton Du Beke
He added that Miss Widdecombe moving to the Brexit Party was a ‘very significant’ moment in ‘our political history’, adding: ‘She made us look serious. She made us look real.’
Kemi Badenoch called her a ‘formidable politician’.
The Tory leader said in a post on social media: ‘My deepest condolences and those of the Conservative Party to the family and friends of Ann Widdecombe.
‘She was a formidable politician who was never afraid to speak her mind and fought hard for what she believed. Always true to herself, her politics were strongly guided by her faith and her values. Rest in Peace, Ann.’
