Devon and Cornwall police said a 28-year-old man was arrested at a South Yorkshire address Saturday evening on suspicion of murdering former MP Ann Widdecombe and remained in custody in the July 11 record; suspicion authorized detention, not a charge, trial finding or conclusion of guilt. [1]

The arrest replaced rather than supplemented the inquiry's first custody event: a 26-year-old man arrested Friday in Newton Abbot was released without charge early Saturday and police said he was no longer part of the investigation, a distinction that prevents two arrests from becoming two suspects still facing the same case. [1]

Counter Terrorism Policing North East and South Yorkshire police assisted with the arrest, but Devon and Cornwall police retained control and said there was still no information suggesting terrorism; the force had also said it held no information supporting a political motive and repeatedly asked the public not to speculate. [1]

Investigators were working on the assumption that Widdecombe, 78, was attacked at about 12:30pm Wednesday before ambulance staff found her body at her Haytor bungalow at 11:40am Thursday, but the Saturday report did not establish a public cause of death, motive or evidentiary link between the new suspect and the killing. [1]

No verified topic-specific X status was found, so neither Widdecombe's political career nor the involvement of counter-terrorism officers supplies a motive; as of the cutoff, the exact record was one man released without charge, another arrested on suspicion and a police statement that the inquiry had not been shown to be terrorist or political.

-- CHARLES ASHFORD, London