The uncle of the man arrested on suspicion of murdering Ann Widdecombe told the BBC his legs “went like jelly” when he heard his nephew had been held — as police separately arrested a man over a social media threat to shoot Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
A white British man, 28, was arrested on Saturday outside his home in Rotherham, nearly 300 miles from Widdecombe’s house in Haytor, Devon. He is being held on suspicion of murder and on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. Counter-terror police said on Tuesday they believe the former Conservative minister, 78, was killed in a “targeted attack”. She sustained “catastrophic head injuries”, according to police.
“Uncle of Widdecombe murder suspect says legs 'went like jelly'; police also arrest man over threat to shoot Nigel Farage.”
The suspect is believed to have driven about 270 miles to Devon, beaten Widdecombe to death, and driven back to South Yorkshire the same day. His uncle, speaking in Rotherham, said: “Things don’t add up … To drive all that way and back in one day takes some doing. I would drive past his house nearly every day and 99 times out of 100 the car would be there.” He described his nephew as a “quiet and unassuming boy” who was “gentle and polite” and “everything that a shy, young boy would be”.
Neighbour Courtney Foster said the suspect used to take his father out shopping before his death from cancer in December, but “since then he never really went out much”. She noticed a car leave the Rotherham property between 7.30am and 8am on Wednesday last week and return around 5.30pm or 6pm. “I was quite surprised at the time. I thought ‘oh, the car’s gone’,” she said. CCTV appears to show the suspect leaving the address with a wooden baton in his pocket five hours before Widdecombe is believed to have been attacked.
The arrest came six days after Widdecombe’s death, as the Metropolitan Police also confirmed a man in his 20s was arrested in south London on Tuesday this week on suspicion of sending threatening communications to a member of parliament. The arrest relates to a post on X that warned Farage: “I am going to shoot you in the head if you win.” The post was reported to police on 8 May, a day after local and mayoral elections. The man has been bailed pending further inquiries.
Farage said: “This is the first time the police have ever proactively acted on a social media post, and I hope they are looking at the other three or four hundred similar posts from this year alone.” Police told Farage it could take several weeks to examine seized digital devices.
Earlier on Wednesday, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf said the party would provide “round-the-clock protection” for all MPs if in government, adding that Farage “lives his life under the ever-present threat of mortal danger”.
