Natalie Fleet hit out at Nigel Farage’s party after Ann Widdecombe’s death (Image: Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
A Labour MP has been forced to issue an apology after accusing Nigel Farage of “faux outrage” over Ann Widdecombe’s death. Natalie Fleet, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, hit out at Mr Farage and his “gang of bin men” in the aftermath of the former Conservative MP‘s death.
She accused the Reform UK leader of disingenuously claiming to be worried about his own security threat after the suspected murder of Ms Widdecombe at her home last week. A now-deleted post read: “Nigel Farage and his gang of bin men get the same security as the rest of us. Sick of the faux outrage. None of them cared when a senior Reform UK politician was sharing my death threats!”
Following backlash, she wrote in a separate post: “Apologies for offence caused by my earlier tweet, which I’ve now deleted. My thoughts are – as they have always been – with Ann Widdecombe’s lived ones at this awful time.”
Ann Widdecombe became a spokesperson for Reform in her later life (Image: Getty Images)
Ms Widdecombe, who acted as a Reform spokesperson after stepping back from the Tories, was found dead with serious injuries at her remote bungalow in Devon on Thursday.
A 28-year-old white British man who was arrested on suspicion of her murder on Saturday has since been rearrested in suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the suspect was not known to the Government anti-extremism scheme Prevent.
Ms Mahmood also said Mr Farage has been offered a meeting with the head of a parliamentary body responsible for politicians’ safety over his concerns about the safety of Reform MPs.
It was announced on Monday that counter-terrorism police were taking over the investigation into the veteran politician’s death from the Devon and Cornwall force.
Laurence Taylor, head of UK counter-terrorism policing, said: “Building on the progress made by our colleagues in Devon and Cornwall Police, we now have new information and evidence that means Counter Terrorism Policing is now leading the investigation.
“We are pursuing multiple lines of inquiry to establish the motivation for this attack.
“Our priority is progressing this investigation quickly, with all the capabilities we have available to us. If anyone has any information, please share it with the police.
“We would like to thank local communities, the wider public and the media for their ongoing support and patience, and would ask them to continue to support us in the next stage of the investigation.”