Reform MPs given 24-hour protection after murder of Ann Widdecombe as party leaders fear copycat attack and police hunt killer

Senior Reform politicians in the UK are receiving 24-hour protection after the murder of Ann Widdecombe, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

The killer of the former Conservative minister who became a spokesman for reform justice remains at large, while other party figures live in fear of a potential copycat attack.

Mrs Widdecombe, 78, was beaten to death on Wednesday and although her remote Dartmoor home was ‘highly fortified’ with ‘security cameras everywhere’, the MoS revealed her killer may have gotten in through a door left open due to the hot weather.

The politician is thought to have been killed at 12.30pm, half an hour before Matt Allwright was scheduled to appear on the Channel 5 show via Zoom.

Last night it was revealed that the show’s production staff, who last heard from Ms Widdecombe at 12.19pm, waited seven hours before telling their agents she had not arrived and stopped responding to messages.

The early stages of the investigation, the ‘golden hours’ to gather evidence and interview witnesses, are critical.

Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party, arrived at the scene yesterday to lay flowers

In other developments regarding the crime that shocked the nation, the following emerged:

• Mrs Widdecombe’s body lay undiscovered in her kitchen for nearly 24 hours before being found by her ‘traumatised’ gardener
• According to reform leader Nigel Farage, the suspect was seen in a car in the driveway at the time of the murder.
• Police struggled to download footage from Widdecombe’s doorbell camera and claimed Ms Widdecombe’s attacker was “trying to dismember her”, sources say
• His family fear his death could be politicized and are said to be ‘uneasy’ about Mr Farage holding an impromptu press conference outside his home
• Police searched bushes and moss-covered walls near his home with fingertips

When Mr Farage arrived at the scene to lay flowers yesterday, party sources told the MoS they were doing ‘everything we can to keep our people safe’.

This is understood to include 24-hour protection of the party’s eight MPs and home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf. Scotland Yard is believed to have made its own assessment of the protection required for Reform politicians.

A source from Reformation England said: ‘As things stand, we don’t know whether this was politically motivated or a rip-off completely unrelated to Ann’s political beliefs. But it stands to reason that Reform politicians face a particularly high risk.’

Additionally, sources close to Reform’s Treasury spokesman, Robert Jenrick, said he had recently raised concerns that he had been ‘attacked’ by a pervert who was constantly harassing him.

Former Tory culture secretary Nadine Dorries, who defected to Reform last autumn, said she would move from her cottage in the countryside following Ms Widdecombe’s murder.

Writing in today’s MoS, Ms Dorries said: ‘This is the first time in the 25 years since I entered public life that I feel truly afraid. Knowing that Ann died in appalling circumstances – possibly killed for the principled political views she held – has only deepened the state of fear felt by those of us who dare to take part in centre-right politics today.’

Gifts of flowers lie next to the portrait of the 78-year-old former government minister taken after he was found dead

Police carried out fingertip searches near Ms Widdecombe’s home today

Ms Widdecombe became a Brexit Party MP and later a UK Reform supporter

A senior source told the MoS last night that Ms Widdecombe’s family ‘did not want her death to be hijacked for political purposes’, adding that they were ‘very uneasy’ about Mr Farage being at the scene.

Sources said Ms Widdecombe’s bungalow was equipped with a high level of security; this reflected the fact that she was ‘an old woman living alone in a remote area’.

One said: ‘You couldn’t move for the cameras. It’s a shocking irony that he’s thought to have left the door open.’

Like many politicians, he received death threats and hate mail. One of the sources said the worst came from campaigners angered by his opposition to abortion.

Mr Farage said yesterday: ‘One of the theories going around is that it was a burglary gone wrong. However, at around 12.25pm ​​on Wednesday, a car pulled out onto the road.

‘If you were a thief, would you literally drive your car into someone’s garage? From what I could see and understand, this was premeditated murder.

‘Whether it is politically motivated or someone holding a grudge. ‘I don’t think it would be helpful to speculate at the moment.’

The MoS referred Mr Farage’s allegations about the car to Devon and Cornwall Police yesterday but they did not respond.

They had previously revealed Ms Widdecombe had serious blunt trauma injuries to her head.

Mr Farage held an impromptu press conference outside Ms Widdecombe’s home after her death (pictured together in 2019)

Like many politicians, Ms Widdecombe received death threats and hate mail. A source said the worst came from campaigners angered by his opposition to abortion (Image: Police outside his Dartmoor home)

Saying that ‘her death was violent and barbaric’, Mr Farage compared Ms Widdecombe’s murder to the unsolved murder of BBC journalist Jill Dando in 1999.

‘Whatever the reason…let’s hope and pray this isn’t a Jill Dando type case that finds no one. “I believe they will achieve this with modern technology,” he said.

‘What this means is that people who are now in public life, particularly in politics, are saying that the world is more dangerous than ever before.

‘We will do our best to support the police. ‘I have our security teams review our emails to identify emails that are sent directly to Ann or that mistreat her.’

Mr Farage’s intervention came hours after police announced that a 26-year-old man arrested as a suspect had been released without any action being taken against him.

Deputy Chief Constable Matt Longman said last night: ‘Officers are making progress and continuing a number of investigations.

‘We have taken the active decision not to publish any further information, including descriptions of potential suspects or CCTV footage, at this time.

‘Premature disclosure of such information could compromise ongoing investigations and harm future investigative opportunities.’

Reform donor Nick Candy told the MoS the abuse suffered by Mr Farage should be taken more seriously. He said: ‘You don’t have to be assassinated for concerns about your safety to deserve to be taken seriously.

‘Political violence does not start with murder. It starts with harassment, intimidation, objects thrown from the crowd, and threats. After all, it starts with people deciding that ordinary standards of behavior are no longer valid because they don’t like someone’s politics.’

Ms Widdecombe appeared on Talk TV on Wednesday, just days before her death

The TV crew waited 7 hours to report that he had not arrived

By Daisy Graham-Brown

The Mail on Sunday understands production staff at ITN waited seven hours before telling Ann Widdecombe’s representatives that they had lost contact with her.

Ms Widdecombe was due to appear on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright program at 1pm on Wednesday and last texted a program researcher at 12.19pm.

But the MoS understands that ITN, which produces the programme, only emailed Ms Widdecombe’s agency at around 8pm to inform them that she had not appeared on air.

Because it was after hours, the agency didn’t see the message until Thursday morning. This means ITN’s message was sent nearly seven hours after Ms Widdecombe failed to respond to the investigator’s 12.48pm message asking her to join a Zoom link before the interview.

Miss Widdecombe was known as an extremely organized and punctual woman and friends last night said it would be ‘highly unusual’ for her to miss an appointment without apologizing.

A source close to the events said the experience felt like a ‘living nightmare’. The findings raise significant questions about whether it would have been possible for Ms Widdecombe’s agency, Cloud9 Management, to have alerted police earlier and allowed them to begin a murder investigation in the crucial hours immediately after her death.

Police believe Ms Widdecombe was attacked at her home in Haytor, Dartmoor, at around 12.30am on Wednesday, but her body was not only found in her kitchen nearly 24 hours later at around 11.40am on Thursday morning.

While ITN last night did not deny that staff waited until 8pm on Wednesday evening to make contact, the MoS understands the company followed strict duty of care protocol.

There is no allegation that ITN acted inappropriately. On Friday evening, Channel 5 News presenter Dan Walker said: ‘Ann was due to appear on Daytime 5 on Wednesday afternoon but stopped responding to messages and did not turn up for the programme. The team contacted his manager and asked them to check on him.

‘This information has been passed to police as part of the investigation.’

Cloud9 Management has been approached for comment.