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A man, 26, has been arrested on suspicion of murder following death of Ann Widdecombe. Police said in a press conference that her death is not believed to be politically-motivated ,but added it was too early to comment when asked if the suspect was known to the former MP. Tom Swarbrick reacts to the news, and is joined by LBC correspondent Andy Ballantyne, LBC political editor Natasha Clark, and former special advisor to Widdecombe, Adam Newton, to discuss the details of the case and Widdecombe's legacy. Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp #tomswarbrick #annwiddecombe #LBC #reformuk #conservative LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK. Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/ Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup
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Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman there of Devon and Cornwall Police making a statement at the
0:05
force's headquarters in Exeter. As you heard a 26 year old white British man has been arrested
0:13
in Newton Abbott on suspicion of murder related to the former MP Anne Whittacombe. It is not
0:22
her death being treated as terrorism although they had contact with counter-terror police
0:28
at one stage, the police not speculating or giving us any more information about whether or not
0:33
the two were known to each other at all. No information yet, the police say, on whether or
0:40
not this was a politically motivated crime. They've talked about keeping an open mind to a variety of
0:46
different questions, including whether they were known to each other, and not going into much more
0:49
detail about the nature of the arrest, or indeed, actually other detail too, that would have been
0:57
helpful to know perhaps about the house itself and whether there had been any signs of struggle
1:03
or forced entry or what have you. That is the latest as we have it from the Assistant Chief
1:08
Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, 26-year-old British national in custody, arrested on suspicion of the murder of former MP Anne Whiddicombe. Andy Ballatine, LBC's
1:21
South West correspondent, was at that press conference. What was said, Andy? Afternoon
1:27
It came as a bit of a shock, to be honest with you, Tom. We were just expecting exactly what you've just said
1:33
But then Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman announced that a 26-year-old man had been arrested in Newton Abbot this afternoon
1:42
Now, as you say, sadly, 78-year-old Miss Whittacombe was located dead within the property, her own property at Haytall
1:50
she had sustained serious injuries and her next of kin had been informed of being supported by
1:56
specially trained officers. So here's Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman. We can confirm that a 26-year-old man was arrested at an address in Newton Abbot this afternoon
2:06
on suspicion of the murder of Anne Whittacombe. The suspect, who is a white British national
2:12
remains in police custody whilst inquiries continue. Officers were called to Miss Whittacombe's home
2:18
at Haytor by the ambulance service around 11.40 a.m. on Thursday 9 July
2:25
Sadly 78 Miss Widdecombe was located deceased within the property She has sustained serious injuries Her next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers
2:38
Detectives from the fourth major crime investigation team have launched a murder investigation
2:42
and are conducting extensive inquiries into the circumstances surrounding Miss Whiddicombe's death
2:48
While we work closely with our partners and have consulted counter-terrorism policing as part of our initial inquiries, the incident is not being treated as terrorism
2:58
A cordon remains in place at the property while specialist officers continue forensic examinations
3:04
Now there are road closures in place around the scene and at Hayd Tour
3:09
The public are also going to see a significant police presence in the area
3:13
while detectives and officers conduct house-to-house inquiries. Now, what they're trying to do is find any CCTV or dash cam, things like that, that might tell them what happened on that Thursday morning
3:27
With the murder inquiry, it's at its early stages, but moving, as you can tell, at a significant pace
3:34
The police are asking people not to speculate about might what have happened, particularly on social media
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as it's not only potentially harmful to their investigation, but also deeply distressing for family and friends of Anne Whittacombe
3:47
Andy, the distance between Newton Abbott and Haytor, it's about half an hour, isn't it, from memory in the car or so
3:58
Yeah, by car it's about half an hour, something like that. Newton Abbott, then you've got Bovey Tracy
4:04
and then you've got Haytor separated by about 15 minutes each. So, yes, you know, as I say, we're trying not to speculate, but obviously there are a few theories that the police are now trying to determine and ascertain what happened
4:21
And that's why it's so important that they track the movements of everyone in and around Ann Widdecombe's property at the time of the attack and what happened
4:32
And we're just waiting to find out from police what they can tell us
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And also when they question the suspect as to what, if anything, he might tell them
4:43
Yes, they're keeping an open mind, they say, about whether the two were known to each other
4:47
No information on whether or not this was a politically motivated crime
4:52
But as you say no counter involvement as yet Andy thank you very much indeed Andy Valentine LBC South West correspondent Natasha Clarke is LBC political editor where we have been hearing this afternoon really from all but one so far We expecting to
5:08
hear from Nigel Farage later, all but Nigel Farage of the political leaders
5:13
Yeah, that's right. We haven't heard an updated statement from Mr Farage, the leader of Reform UK, which is of course Anne Whittacombe's current party, but we
5:20
were hearing uh from the prime minister earlier today and it just uh just goes to show how fast
5:26
this this situation is moving because he was urging people to come forward to help with the
5:32
investigation with the police who have asked anyone with cctv any footage any camera footage
5:38
to come forward to aid that police investigation and of course as andy was just telling you
5:42
they weren't expecting the news that 26 year old man has now been arrested the police did not say
5:46
as they sometimes do we're not looking for anybody else in connection and so we've been hearing from politicians across the political
5:51
spectrum talking about Anne Willicombe's untimely death. That's according to Wes Streeting
5:56
the former health secretary. He says this death in her circumstances is
5:59
deeply chilling. My prayers are with all of those who loved and knew her. We've also
6:03
in the last few minutes got a message in from Lucy Powell, of course the
6:07
deputy leader of the Labour Party. She says very shocked to hear about the circumstances. This is very
6:11
disturbing news and we should come together across politics. Still waiting for that
6:15
updated statement from the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage. Natasha, thank you very much indeed. Natasha
6:19
Clark, LBC's political editor. Adam Newton was a former special advisor to Anne Whittakin when she was
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Shadow Home Secretary. Thanks so much for coming on the programme, Adam. Again, sorry for
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your loss and in these circumstances. What was Anne like to work for
6:36
Thanks, Tom. And I just want to associate myself with the comments that we've heard from the Prime Minister and others in
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respect of this news. It's a terrible tragedy and having known Anne's
6:45
family in some capacity over a number of years, the great sadness and tragedy. So we have to think about them first. I mean
6:53
Anne was exactly what you saw on TV. She was robust. She was clear. She was undeterred
7:02
by people's views on her and her views on things in what she said. And I think recognised
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in doing so that she attracted people's attention and sometimes people's opposition. She was
7:16
She was also, and this is probably the side of her that's less well known, an incredibly kind, empathetic and caring person
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And I lost count to the number of times we take her out on tours to different parts of the country and she would meet individuals who would approach her with particular problems in the moment that needed attention
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and she would do everything she could to pick up those problems and help try and deal with them
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So she was, you know, in that respect, a great humanitarian as well as being this force of nature
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Don't get me wrong, she was as tough as nails, but also an incredibly kind and caring individual
7:53
Clearly, there were people who disagreed with her on a variety of different issues
7:57
not least around things like gay marriage or response to various forms of law and order
8:03
How did those disagreements at the time, Adam, manifest themselves rather differently
8:10
to how they might manifest themselves in this day and age? There seems to be a desire to create an entire person around one view
8:19
that they might hold on a particular issue. you we've certainly seen an increase in the in the kind of polarizing of opinions to become
8:28
um if you like caricatures or tropes of individual politicians i mean ann um would routinely run into
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people who would tell her that they didn't agree with their views i remember one occasion where we
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were hit with homemade custard pies as a result of a perception that uh her views towards asylum
8:49
and immigration were deeply unpopular. It was part and parcel of what she took on
8:55
and what she dealt with, but undeterred. She had views and she expressed them
9:01
I mean, I think it would be wrong to give the impression that she only represented a very hardline
9:06
very traditional right-wing view of things. I worked with her at a time where she was advancing policies
9:11
on youth justice and on reform of prisons in particular, which some people looked at within the Tory party
9:18
and said we're far too liberal she believed passionately that people should work in prison
9:22
earn money towards a reparation for victims and return to society having done something meaningful
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rather than being locked in prison cells for 23 hours a day achieving nothing other than a
9:34
you know access to more hardened criminality so there was both sides there it was you know at
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points of contradiction but i think inevitably um a lot of the the harder views particularly
9:44
after she made the decision to move across to Brexit supporting parties did become caricatures
9:51
of her somewhat. Really appreciate your time. Thank you very much indeed for coming on this
9:55
afternoon. Adam Newton, former special advisor to Anne Whittacombe when she was shadow Home Secretary
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