Sky News presenter Sean Fletcher halted the programme to deliver viewers a breaking development in the investigation into former MP Ann Widdecombe's death. Footage showed the moment that officers descended on the suspect's residence.
The ex-Tory minister, 78, was discovered dead at her remote bungalow in Haytor, Devon, last Thursday. The anchor switched to correspondent Dan Whitehead who provided an update after it was confirmed the case is now being handled by Counter Terrorism police.
Significant Shift in Investigation
"This is a significant moment in the investigation. We've been gone past the 36-hour mark for the questioning of this 28-year-old man arrested in Rotherham on Saturday, and now perhaps understand some of the reasons behind that: the shift in focus, the shift of responsibility, the investigation going to counter-terrorism police," Whitehead explained.
"Of course, this began on Wednesday when they suspect Ann Widdecombe was attacked in her house in Dartmoor, but it was on Saturday night the CCTV footage that we have of the moment police from South Yorkshire, assisted as well by the counter-terrorism unit in the northeast, arrived at the property in Rotherham to arrest that 28-year-old suspect," he said.
CCTV Footage of Arrest
As the footage played for viewers, he continued: "You'll see that officer carrying the ram for the door in case there are any problems getting in, and that is where that man was arrested originally on suspicion of murder at around 9pm on Saturday."
"Now, after that arrest throughout Sunday, there were forensic searches. There were police outside the property there, conducting inquiries and going door to door as well. That man was in custody... 9 pm on Saturday, and it was this morning that we heard the news that now he has been re-arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences."
Counter-Terrorism Lead
Whitehead added: "Counter-terrorism police southeast, interestingly, now leading this investigation and saying that the man in custody [was] re-arrested on suspicion of...instigation of acts of terrorism."
He went on: "Of course, there is an active live investigation. The big question will be: What has changed? Has that decision to re-arrest him on suspicion of terrorism offences come from the questioning of that suspect over the last 36 hours? Has it come from something that was perhaps found inside that property? That will be a key focus for the detectives."
Crime Scene in Devon
"Meanwhile, of course, half an hour away from the police HQ here in Exeter, there is a crime scene, a major crime scene, still at the house of Ann Widdecombe. We were there on Friday night and have been there over the last couple of days...We saw officers initially, of course, carrying out forensic searches, tests, carrying a lot of equipment in and out of Ann Widdecombe's property, which is in a remote area, only surrounded by I would say a dozen or so other houses," Whitehead reported.
"So the situation this afternoon is, and it's important to remember that this 28-year-old man hasn't been charged at the moment, and so that investigation, that re-arrest, is a whole new set of questions and a whole new set of officers now potentially questioning that man on suspicion of terrorism offences."
