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"It's not an Agatha Christie novel!" Farage criticised for Ann Widdecombe speculation
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July 13, 2026
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July 13, 2026
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6:49Now PlayingAnn Widdecombe's death is "not an Agatha Christie novel," Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith told LBC (03:20), as he criticised Nigel Farage for speculating around her death and claiming her killing was "premeditated".
Speaking on LBC, the Tory MP said he didn't doubt Farage's "genuine sense of loss" but added that it "doesn't, however, licence everybody to go off and try and make a concept of why it happened and how it happened."
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.
Sir Iain told Tom Swarbrick: "This is not an Agatha Christie novel. This is real life and this is a real murder. And let's just leave the police to get on with it."
Former Conservative MP-turned Reform spokesperson Ann Widdecombe was discovered dead in her home in Haytor on Dartmoor on Thursday with serious head injuries, having been attacked almost a day earlier, police believe.
A 28-year-old man has been taken into custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder in Rotherham, South Yorkshire on Saturday evening.
Asked what he made of Nigel Farge's response to Miss Widdecombe's death, Sir Iain accused the Reform leader of "speculating without real understanding".
"What I would suggest to him and to everybody else is to go with the police view on this, which is not to jump to conclusions about it. Because if you look carefully, the first time they arrested somebody, everybody began to jump to conclusions about that, and then only to discover in fact they released him and he wasn't, he wasn't a guilty individual."
On Saturday, during a visit to Miss Widdecombe's Dartmoor village, the Reform UK leader said Miss Widdecombe's murder was definitely not a burglary and described it as "premeditated", defying police calls for an end to public speculation.
"The car went on to the drive at approximately 12.30pm on Wednesday,” Farage said.
“If you were a burglar, would you literally drive your car on to someone’s drive? You wouldn’t. From what I can see of it, from what I can make out, this was premeditated murder.”
Police told reporters on Sunday that there is still no information to suggest that this is a terrorism-related incident nor politically motivated, and reiterated their plea for people not to speculate on social media, adding it was "unhelpful" and "distressing" for Widdecombe's relatives.
It comes as CCTV footage seen by The Telegraph appears to show a man leaving an address linked to the suspect at around 7am on Wednesday – the day Miss Widdecombe is believed to have been attacked.
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