Ann Widdecombe was the victim of a 'targeted attack' as suspect is held for another seven days over her 'murder'
Former MP and MEP Ann Widdecombe was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor on Thursday after sustaining serious injuries.
Ann Widdecombe was killed in her Devon home in a "targeted attack", counter-terror police have said in an update.
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In a briefing on Tuesday, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing Laurence Taylor said it was clear a degree of "preparation and planning" went into the killing of the 78-year-old.
Assistant Commissioner Taylor also revealed that police have a warrant to detain the murder suspect, a 28-year-old white male, for another seven days under the Terrorism Act.
Officers have conducted "extensive searches" in connection with the investigation, Assistant Commissioner Taylor added.
He continued: "We will release further information when it is appropriate to do so... Think before sharing misinformation."
Urging people not to speculate, he said: "This is a murder investigation following a brutal attack on a 78-year-old lady in her own home."
Read more: Ann Widdecombe murder ‘not politically motivated’, say police - as man, 28, still in custody
When asked by reporters, Assistant Commissioner Taylor would not rule out that the attack may have been linked to a foreign state, insisting investigators were "keeping an open mind" about the motivation.
He also said that the question of whether the suspect had planned to attack other Reform UK MPs was a "line of inquiry" being explored by investigators, later adding: "I am acutely aware of the impact this event will have on those public figures."
The suspect was initially taken into custody on Saturday evening after being arrested on suspicion of murder in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
Police continued to hold the suspect in custody through Sunday, with the force confirming on Monday that specialist counter-terrorism officers were now leading the investigation and that the man in custody had been re-arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
The re-arrest came after “new information and evidence" came to light during the investigation into the 78-year-old Reform spokeswoman’s death on Wednesday.
Asked if specialist officers could have taken the investigation over from Devon and Cornwall Police earlier, Mr Taylor said it was "appropriate" that his force took over at the time that they did.
"We have been consulted throughout the course of the investigation," he said.
He added: "Inquiries like this are complex, new information will emerge as officers progress those inquiries. It was appropriate that counter terror policing took over at that stage."
Giving an update on the investigation in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the murder suspect was not known to the Prevent programme.
Prevent is the government's programme that aims to stop individuals who are at risk of becoming terrorists.
Speaking to MPs, the Home Secretary described the nature of Ms Widdecombe's death as"extremely distressing".
Paying tribute, Ms Mahmood described the former MP as "forthright and fearless" and "thought seriously about ideas but she did not take herself too seriously".She said quoting Ms Widdecombe's appearance on The Graham Norton Show: "We get one go this side of eternity, one go, life is not a dress rehearsal."
Former MP Iain Duncan Smith insisted Ann Widdecombe's death is "not an Agatha Christie novel" in an interview on LBC on Monday.
Speaking with Tom Swarbrick, he blasted Nigel Farage for speculating around her death.
It comes amid a brewing row surrounding the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who has been accused of weaponising Ms Widdecombe's death for political ends.