CHILLING new footage has emerged showing a man suspected of killing Ann Widdecombe putting objects in his bins three days after the politician was attacked.
Ms Widdecombe 78, was found dead by a carer at her isolated bungalow in Haytor, Devon, on Thursday morning.
Cops theorised that Ms Widdecombe died some 24 hours before she was found at around midday on Wednesday.
A 28-year-old man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder on Saturday evening in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
Devon & Cornwall Police said they were not looking for anyone else as part of the investigation before counter terror cops took over the probe today.
“New information and evidence” about the death of the ex-Tory minister has come to light, Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTP) said.
What we know so far…
CTP added the suspect has been re-arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism and “was not known” to the Government’s anti-extremism Prevent programme.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the suspect had no previous links to the scheme designed to identify people at risk of radicalisation.
Video footage from outside the suspect’s home, filmed on Saturday, shows him after he drove nearly 300 miles and allegedly attacked Ms Widdecombe.
It shows the suspect, shirtless, and carrying a bag towards some wheelie bins.
A red Vauxhall Corsa can been seen in the background of the video and appears to be the same car the suspect climbed into before driving to Ms Widdecombe’s property.
The man walks up to the camera with the bag in hand before turning out of the frame to put something in the bins.
He can then be seen doing something off camera, with only his back and arm showing.
He then turns and walks back towards the red car before disappearing from sight.
The video was shot on Saturday, three days after Ms Widdecombe was killed, and shortly before the suspect was taken into custody.
A small dog can also be seen in the video, with a witness saying cops picked up the pooch after arresting the man.
Forensic officers were seen entering a terraced home in Rotherham after the arrest, with a police cordon and several marked vehicles at the scene.
Officers thoroughly checked the man’s bins as they combed through his property.
Clad in white hazmat suits head to toe, the specialist officers can be seen in images peering into the open wheelie bins outside the house where the suspect was arrested.
Several of the forensic specialists can be seen searching in, around and under the bins in images from the scene.
Separate pictures show forensic officers carrying evidence towards their vehicles after searching the area.
Further CCTV seen by The Sun appears to show a young man leaving an address at around 7am on Wednesday morning.
Neighbours told The Telegraph they saw the man putting “some kind of wooden stick” into the passenger side of a red car before driving off.
It is around a four-hour drive from South Yorkshire where the man was arrested to Dartmoor, where Ms Widdecombe lived alone.
Neighbour Courtney Foster said the arrest on Saturday was “really loud”, adding: “They took his dog as well.”
Another resident said: “Loads of unmarked police cars and loads of people ran into house. I feel quite sick to tell you the truth.”
Ms Widdecombe was interviewed on TalkTV at around 8am on Wednesday via video link from her isolated bungalow named Widdecombe’s Rest.
She was then due on Channel 5‘s Matt Allwight show at 1pm – but failed to appear.
In exchanges later made public by ITV News, Ms Widdecombe messaged a staff member at 12.19pm telling them “Received! Panic over!!”
But she did not respond to a Zoom link sent half an hour later at 12.48pm before a producer messaged at 12.55pm asking: “Hi Ann is everything ok?”
Channel 5’s Dan Walker later confirmed her agent was then contacted and asked to go check on her.
It’s understood Ms Widdecombe’s carer found her body in the kitchen on Thursday morning and called 999 for an ambulance, who in turn notified police at 11.40am, nearly a full day after it is theorised she was killed.
Cops later revealed she had sustained severe blunt force trauma wounds after being bludgeoned in the head.
It is believed that her killer was caught on her home CCTV cameras.
On Friday, cops said they believed the attack took place at around 12.30pm on Wednesday – and were working on the assumption she died in a burglary gone wrong.
A 26-year-old man was initially arrested on Friday at an address in Newton Abbot, 11 miles from the scene of the murder.
He was later released from custody, with cops saying he is no longer part of the investigation.
The 28-year-old suspect was then arrested in connection with the investigation on Saturday evening before being re-arrested today by counter-terror cops.
Counter-terrorism officers from North East and South Yorkshire Police assisted with the arrest.
The suspect is described as a white British national.
We previously revealed that Ann Widdecombe’s home was shown on national television just five days before she was killed.
TV channel Quest aired an episode of Celebrity Yorkshire Auction House featuring the late politician on July 2, TV listings show.
In the episode, the inside of Ann’s £600,000 Dartmoor bungalow is shown in extensive detail as she gives host Angus Ashworth a guided tour.
It includes shots of her front door, garden, conservatory, gym, library, kitchen and dining area.
The hour-long season two episode was originally aired in 2022 but was reshown in the 6pm timeslot five days before she was killed at around 12.30pm on July 7.
There is no suggestion that visuals of the home on TV inspired or led to Ann’s killing.
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