Ann Widdecombe ‘feared to have lain dead for 24 hours before her body was discovered’
Police reportedly believe Ann Widdecombe lay dead in her Dartmoor home for up to a day before a carer found her, with detectives now said to be zeroing in on the narrow window between her final TV appearance and the moment she stopped answering calls and messages.
Ann Widdecombe may have lain dead in her Dartmoor home for up to 24 hours before her body was discovered.
The Sun is reporting detectives are working on the basis of that theory as the focus of the investigation into her passing shifts to the critical window between her last TV appearance and the moment she stopped answering her phone.
According to the publication, police now think the former Conservative minister and Reform UK politician, 78, was attacked around Wednesday (08.11.26) lunchtime, hours after appearing live on TalkTV at 8am and shortly before she was due to be interviewed again at 2.15pm on Channel 5’s 5 Daytime. Concerns were raised when Ann stopped responding to messages and failed to arrive for the programme, triggering a chain of events that ultimately led to a carer finding her covered in blood at her Dartmoor property the following morning.
On Saturday (11.07.26), The Sun reported officers are now said to be working on the theory she was assaulted at about 12.30pm on Wednesday, with her body not discovered until late Thursday morning.
Channel 5 presenter Dan Walker set out the timeline from the broadcaster’s perspective as he explained how the production team became alarmed when Ann did not appear.
He said: “Ann was due to appear on 5 Daytime on Wednesday afternoon but stopped responding to messages and didn’t turn up for the show. The team contacted her agent to ask them to check in on her. This information has been passed to police as it’s part of the investigation.”
That sequence now reportedly forms a key part of detectives’ efforts to piece together Ann’s final hours.
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman has confirmed officers currently believe the attack on Ann took place on Wednesday 8 July at around 12.30pm, narrowing the focus to a relatively short period between Ann leaving TalkTV and the point at which friends and colleagues could no longer reach her.
He said: “We believe the attack took place on Wednesday 8 July at around 12.30pm.”
Police were not called to the house until about 11.40am on Thursday, when ambulance crews raised the alarm and officers found the 78‑year‑old deceased inside the property with serious injuries.
Investigators say this apparent 24‑hour gap between the suspected time of the attack and the discovery of Ann’s body is now central to the inquiry, raising questions about who may have been in or around her house during that period, and whether the suspect remained in the area or left Dartmoor soon after the assault.
Devon and Cornwall Police have said they are still hunting a white male suspect, and that a 26‑year‑old man arrested on suspicion of murder has since been released and is no longer part of the investigation.
At a press conference, Asst Chief Constable Longman said there was “no information” at this stage to suggest the killing was a “politically motivated crime”. Officers continue to carry out forensic examinations inside Ann’s property and search the surrounding landscape, as they appeal for dashcam, CCTV and witness evidence that might help reconstruct movements near the home during the crucial 24‑hour window.
Ann’s driver, Peter Horrell, has spoken of his “absolute shock” on learning of the circumstances in which the former MP may have died.
He described Ann as a “great lady” who was “very comical” and “down to earth”, and said she had “never mentioned any fear” for her safety and loved living in Haytor.
His account of her routine and sense of security in the area is likely to inform police efforts to understand whether anything unusual had happened in the days leading up to the attack.
Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke, who partnered Ann in the BBC ballroom show in 2010, said he is “devastated” by her death, as tributes continue to centre on her transformation from cabinet minister to one of the programme’s most memorable contestants.
Ann’s post‑politics career, including her stint on Strictly Come Dancing and later appearance on ITV’s Celebrity Big Brother, has been widely revisited as friends and viewers share clips and memories while the investigation into her final day intensifies.
Departing Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said it was “really shocking news” that police had launched a murder investigation after her death, and described Ann as a “distinguished politician”, noting her periods as Education Minister and Prisons Minister in John Major’s cabinet before she left the Commons in 2010.
