00:00We can confirm that a 26-year-old man was arrested at an address in Newton Abbott this afternoon
00:04on suspicion of the murder of Anne Widdicombe.
00:08The suspect, who is a white British national, remains in police custody whilst inquiries continue.
00:15Officers were called to Miss Widdicombe's home at Haytor by the ambulance service around 11.40am on Thursday 9th July.
00:23Sadly, 78-year-old Miss Widdicombe was located deceased within the property.
00:27She has sustained serious injuries.
00:32Her next-to-kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.
00:36Detectives from the Force Major Crime Investigation Team have launched a murder investigation
00:41and are conducting extensive inquiries into the circumstances surrounding Miss Widdicombe's death.
00:47While we work closely with our partners and have consulted counter-terrorism policing as part of our initial inquiries,
00:53the incident is not being treated as terrorism.
00:57A cordon remains in place at the property while specialist officers continue forensic examinations.
01:04There are road closures in place around the scene and the public will see significant police activity in the area
01:10while detectives and other officers continue house-to-house and CCTV inquiries.
01:16This is an extremely tragic incident.
01:19Our thoughts are very much with the family and friends of Miss Widdicombe at this very difficult time.
01:26Our murder inquiry is in its early stages but moving at significant pace and we are deploying all the necessary
01:32resources to find out exactly what has happened.
01:35I would appeal to anyone who may have information about this incident, however insignificant it may seem, to come forward
01:42and speak with us.
01:43While we release further information when we are able to do so, but in the meantime, I would ask people
01:49not to speculate about what might have happened, particularly on social media.
01:54That's not only potentially harmful to our investigation, but also deeply distressing to the family and friends of Miss Widdicombe.
02:02We've set up a major incident public portal for information.
02:07Images or footage can be submitted to us there and this can be found easily on our website.
02:11Information can also be passed anonymously to the independent charity, Crimestoppers.
02:18Well, this is really shocking news and my thoughts, I think all of our thoughts, will be with the family
02:26and friends of Anne Widdicombe at this awful time for them.
02:30Anne was a distinguished politician over many, many years with many achievements and it's a huge, huge loss.
02:39I've been stunned to hear this awful news.
02:42To be honest, I've really struggled to find the words to say.
02:46Anne Widdicombe was a very fun and feisty woman who spoke her mind and she was 78 years old.
02:53She was an elderly woman.
02:54I don't understand how someone could do something so horrific to an elderly person.
03:00It is a nasty, horrific attack and my heart is breaking for her family.
03:05It's one thing when someone dies but to know that they've been murdered in this horrible way is just awful.
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