Police investigating the murder of former MP Ann Widdecombe at her Dartmoor home said today there is ‘nothing to suggest that it was politically motivated’.

The 78-year-old was found dead at her home near Haytor on Thursday July 9. She had sustained serious injuries.

On Saturday evening, July 11, a 28-yearold man was arrested in Rotherham, South Yorkshire on suspicion of her murder.

The man, a white British national, remains in police custody, and police say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with their investigation.

A 26-year-old man arrested in Newton Abbot on Friday (July 10) was later released from custody and police said he is no longer part of the inquiry.

At a media briefing today (Sunday, July 12) the Senior Investigating Officer, Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said detectives ‘remain open-minded about the potential motive’.

He said the Devon and Cornwall force had been supported by counter-terrorism police in South Yorkshire, who made the arrest on Saturday evening, but ‘at this point there is no information to suggest that this is a terrorism-related incident.

“At this point we are not looking for anyone else in connection with this murder. We retain primacy of this investigation and detectives remain open-minded about the potential motive. At this stage there is nothing to suggest that it was politically motivated.

“A cordon is still in place as police continue inquiries at the scene and we anticipate that this will be the case for the next few days.

“The local community can also expect to see a heightened police presence in the coming weeks to provide reassurance to you.

“However I wish to reassure you that we do not have any information to suggest that there’s any wider threat to the public at this time.”

He added that over the past few days police have received more than 120 reports of information into their public portal. He thanked those who had been in touch, and urged anyone who had not yet submitted relevant information ‘to do so as a priority’.

Chief Constable James Vaughan praised the whole police investigation team, saying there had been an ‘extraordinary response to the ‘horrific murder of a very prominent public figure'.

“The operation has been running at a lightning pace for 48 hours and I am really pleased that we have a suspect in custody .. this is clearly British policing at its very best,’ he said.

“My thanks goes to the public for giving us the information we need to progress this investigation and to the media for their patience over last two days, allowing us to focus on the most important thing here - the capture a dangerous man and bring him to justice. .”

The Chief Constable added the the force was aware of online and public speculation, particularly with regard to motive and urged people not to share or engage with speculation saying it was unhelpful and distressing to Miss Widdecombe’s friends and family and potentially harmful to the ongoing investigation.