British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he will resign amid political turmoil
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stepped down, revealing his decision outside No. 10 Downing Street as Westminster faces deep political instability. Fox News senior foreign affairs correspondent Greg Palkot reported that Starmer’s time in office was overshadowed by economic pressure, immigration challenges and weakening backing within his own Labour Party. Andy Burnham, a well-known former mayor, is now being viewed as a leading contender to become Britain’s seventh prime minister in 10 years.
Police said a 26-year-old man has been taken into custody on suspicion of murdering Ann Widdecombe, the former British lawmaker and reality television personality.
Widdecombe, 78, was discovered dead Thursday at her home near Dartmoor National Park in southwest England. Officials said she had suffered severe injuries, according to Reuters.
Authorities have not publicly identified the suspect.
Ann Widdecombe, right, then a British member of the European Parliament for the Brexit Party, speaks during a debate at the European Parliament on Jan. 14, 2020, in Strasbourg, eastern France. Authorities said Widdecombe was found dead at her home this week, and a 26-year-old man has been arrested. (Jean-Francois Badias/AP)
“This is truly shocking news, and my thoughts — as I believe all of ours are — are with Ann Widdecombe’s family and friends at this terrible time,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. “Ann was a distinguished public figure over many, many years, with numerous achievements to her name, and this is an enormous loss.”
Devon and Cornwall Police Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said investigators do not currently believe the killing was driven by politics.
“Our murder investigation remains in its early stages, but it is progressing at considerable speed,” Devon and Cornwall Police said in a statement.
Starmer said the security of lawmakers was “of the utmost importance,” and urged people to rise above political differences.
Former British member of Parliament Ann Widdecombe reads a statement outside the Old Bailey in London after the sentencing of Ali Harbi Ali in relation to the murder trial of the late British lawmaker David Amess. (John Sibley/Reuters)
Widdecombe served in Parliament, but found fame after leaving office as a contestant on the Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother reality television shows. She later joined the Brexit Party and became a spokeswoman for the anti-mass migration Reform UK party.
In a post on X, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Widdecombe “a heroic Brexiteer and a great speaker who could move Tory audiences to such ecstasy that she was a very hard act to follow.”
Cloud9 Management, which represented Widdecombe for more than a decade, said her life was driven by her “strong Christian values and commitment to public service.”
“He 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 across numerous radio and television programmes (sic). Ann was a valued patron of many causes, particularly her animal charities,” the company said in a social media post.
Brexit Party member and then-MEP Ann Widdecombe speaks during a Brexit Party news conference in London on Aug. 27, 2019. (Henry Nicholls/Reuters)
In the past decade, two serving British members of parliament have been murdered.
In the midst of the Brexit campaign of 2016, Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed by a Nazi-obsessed loner. Conservative lawmaker David Amess was fatally stabbed in 2021 by a man inspired by the Islamic State terror group.
