BREAKING: Ann Widdecombe murder case now in the hands of counter terrorism police

But breaking news to bring you now. With that breaking news, joining us is Mark White from Hele Vale in Devon. Mark, what have we learned? This is a significant development in the murder investigation into the death of Anne Whittacombe. The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has now confirmed that counter-terrorism police have taken over the investigation. as lead on this inquiry going forward. The local counter-terrorism unit for this area will be taking over that investigation. In a statement posted on the social media platform X, Shabana Mahmood has just said, Following new information and evidence, the police—now leading the counter-terrorism police— are now leading the investigation into the horrific murder of Anne Whittacombe. She goes on to say that the police are pursuing multiple lines of inquiry to determine the motive behind this attack. I will be updating the House further this afternoon. A statement from the Home Secretary later this afternoon regarding what is clearly a very significant development in the ongoing investigation into the suspected murder of Anne Whittacombe with counter-terrorism police now leading that investigation. And this is puzzling, I have to say, because we all watched that news conference. That statement, which I should say was given on camera by Devon and Cornwall Police yesterday afternoon. where their Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman stood up alongside his Chief Constable, the Chief Constable congratulating the force on British policing being at its very best in the manner in which they were conducting this investigation. But Matt Longman said that they have found no evidence to suggest that this was linked to terrorism. or no evidence whatsoever that there was a political motive behind this. So given that they are now handing this over to the counter-terrorism police to take the lead on it, Does that now also mean they believe there may have been a political motive behind it? These are the questions that people are clearly going to demand urgent answers to going forward. We may hopefully learn a bit more from Shobhana Mahmood as she makes a statement to Parliament this afternoon. But as I say, a very significant and surprising turn of events given the information that has been provided to us by Devon and Cornwall Police over the past few days. A major change in circumstances here. Mark, I wanted to ask you specifically about the words that Devon and Cornwall Police have used. Really since Friday, since their first press conference, saying they remained open-minded about the motive but no evidence suggested terrorism or political motivation. They had found no evidence for it. Now, in Shobhana Mahmood's statement, she says, following new information and evidence. I mean, to the average person, Mark, it sounds like the police didn't have any evidence. that it was politically motivated or related to terrorism And now they've found some new evidence, and the terrorism police are involved. It sounds as if they might have found the evidence that was missing. Well, yes, no, exactly. I think, you know, it is self-evident that this is the case being outlined here. Fairness to Devon and Cornwall Police, they were clearly discussing the circumstances. and the information they were confronted with at the time of making that statement. But now that statement is overturned, whether, as I say, it's perfectly acceptable and understandable. for the evidence they had at that time. New evidence has come to light, meaning the investigation is now being led by counter-terrorism policing. which means that clearly the authorities believe there is sufficient evidence and new information that has come to light, which is guiding them toward connections with terrorists or potentially politically motivated. I mean, in that sense, the two kind of blend into one another. But, of course, that will raise all kinds of questions. quite aside from this ongoing investigation into the horrific murder of Anne Whittacombe. Questions about the safety of politicians in general. We know that reform, of which, of course, Anne Whittacombe was a member of the Reform Party. are particularly concerned about the safety of their members, particularly their high-profile MPs and other party members. And they've been saying that for quite some time. Indeed, I think Nigel Farage was criticized when he suggested over the weekend that it may have been politically motivated. People jumped on those words from Nigel Farage and said they were a bit ill-judged. Well, it may be that in the fullness of time, perhaps what Nigel Farage was saying does indeed have a truth to it. Thank you very much indeed for that update. Counter-terrorism Police are now leading the Whittacombe case. Now let's go to Downing Street, where our political editor, Christopher Hope, is. He has just left a briefing with the Prime Minister's spokesperson. Chris, a major development here. Counter-terrorism Police are now leading the investigation into Anne Whittacombe's murder. Absolutely enormous. This news emerged from the Home Secretary after we concluded our briefing with the Prime Minister's official spokesman. That is absolutely enormous. To some extent, it almost justifies the concern in recent days. since the murder or killing of Anne Whittacombe by reformed UK politicians. I should walk you through what was discussed in the lobby briefing just now. You've heard before from Charlie Peters that the IRGC is now being designated as a terrorist organization along with two other groups. The Iranian ambassador has been summoned by the Foreign Secretary today to be briefed on this matter. That is a pivotal moment, I believe, in UK, Iranian, and indeed broadly in Middle Eastern politics. Shabana Mahmood is also going to amend the 1971 Immigration Act today to enable the government to deport Shabbir Ahmed. Talks are currently underway with the Pakistani government regarding why they refuse to repatriate the leader of this grooming gang. Of course, he is no longer welcome in this country. That has been made very clear. Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister, has made it clear that he wants swift action on that. On the matter of Anne Whittacombe, the government says it is reluctant to encourage anyone to speculate about what occurred. They say it's important that the integrity of the work be maintained. On MP safety, the government says this. It is essential that MPs can carry out their duties, and there are strict protections in place for MPs. You've already heard from Zia Yusuf, who is concerned about the lack of protection for reforms. Eight MPs. And elsewhere, of course, there's talk about the Falkland Islands. The government states that there is no way the Falkland Islanders were planted there by the UK government to influence that referendum back in 2013. The Falklands will remain British. It is their right to self-determination. I should say, when it comes to the transfer of power, it is now all around me. If we could just show you what's happening in Number 10 around this camera. Massive scaffolding is being erected here for the coronation of Andy Burnham as Prime Minister this time next week. What surprises me is the absence of any scrutiny of Andy Burnham's plans within government. Tonight he will be addressing his own MPs in a Zoom online meeting. Questions are being submitted by MPs, selected, and answered. That's private. We can't cover it, film it as GB News. And around here, even tomorrow, with the final Cabinet meeting, Tom, the Prime Minister isn't inviting Andy Burnham to be there. So we should never forget that amidst all the other drama unfolding, of course, in the news, We are about to have a new Prime Minister with little or no scrutiny of his plans. Chris Pope, live from Downing Street, thank you very much indeed. We're going straight back to Cornwall now, where Mark White, our Home Security Editor, is digesting the news of this serious development in the case of Anne Whittacombe's murder. Mark, it feels like it's taken forever to get here. Let's not forget that the police initially believed Anne Whittacombe might not have been murdered at all. This then became a murder investigation, and now it may potentially be a terrorism investigation. Yeah, listen, I think with complex investigations, you know, information can come to light. Remember, you have electronic devices that need to be interrogated and checked right now. It can be difficult to gain access to them, such as contacts, friends, and associates of an individual in custody. All of that requires people to speak with, to delve into the background of an individual. So I think, fair to the counter-terrorism police, the police, and detectives in general leading this investigation, It's a complex investigation, clearly. It may take some time for all the facts to come to light and for the key points to emerge. But we are where we are now, with a clearly very significant turn of events in this ongoing investigation. which is now being led by counter-terrorism policing. I have just received a statement from Assistant Commissioner Lawrence Taylor, who is the head of counter-terrorism policing in the UK. And interestingly, a man I interviewed just last week outside Scotland Yard about the rising terror threat level in the UK, and a very sobering assessment from Assistant Commissioner Taylor at that time. But in this statement regarding his detectives now taking over this investigation, He said, Building on the progress made by our colleagues in Devon and Cornwall Police, We now have new information and evidence that mean counter-terrorism policing is now leading the investigation. We are pursuing multiple lines of inquiry to determine the motive behind this attack. And he is using the word "attack" now. Our priority is to advance the investigation swiftly using all the capabilities at our disposal. If anyone has any information, he says, please share it with the police. And he finally goes on to say, We would like to thank local communities, the wider public, and the media for their ongoing support and patience. and we would ask them to continue supporting us in the next stage of the investigation So there we've heard it directly from the man at the very top of counter-terrorism policing in the UK. Assistant Commissioner Lawrence Taylor, telling us