Zia Yusuf accuses rivals of ‘incitement’ after Ann Widdecombe killing
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A senior Reform UK politician has used a press conference to accuse other politicians of “incitement” with their claims Reform is a threat after Ann Widdecombe’s death.
Zia Yusuf, the party’s spokesperson for home affairs, said: “I can tell you about the climate in which she was killed – a relentless narrative from politicians and the media, that Reform UK is a threat.
“A threat to be urgently stopped,” he added. “A narrative so relentless it constitutes incitement.”
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Counter Terrorism Policing head Laurence Taylor said Ms Widdecombe’s death was a “targeted attack”, and said whether the suspect in the alleged murder was targeting Reform UK figures will be a “line of investigation”.
The Guardian reported that investigators are considering whether left wing, anarchist and single-issue terrorism (LASIT) played a role in the suspect’s alleged motivation, but are keeping an open mind as new material emerges.
A 28-year-old man, who was arrested in Rotherham on Saturday on suspicion of murder, has since been re-arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
Starmer tasks officials across government to better ‘defend our democracy’ amid Ann Widdecombe death
Sir Keir Starmer said he has “tasked officials across government to identify the best mechanisms” to better “defend our democracy”.
He told the Commons: “I’ve tasked officials across government to identify the best mechanisms for taking this work forward so it can move as quickly as possible.
“And I hope the whole House can unite behind that in the months ahead.”
Sir Keir also paid tribute to Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, telling him: “You have been instrumental in defending the safety of every member of this House.”
Bryony Gooch15 July 2026 13:00
Watch: Zia Yusuf dodges question over threat assessment in proposed MP safety policyZia Yusuf dodges question over threat assessment administration in proposed MP safety policy
Bryony Gooch15 July 2026 12:31
Starmer says more must be done to defend democracy amid Ann Widdecombe’s murder
Sir Keir Starmer has said “we must do more to defend our democracy” in the wake of Ann Widdecombe’s murder.
The prime minister paid tribute to the late politician following her killing last week, telling MPs he was “truly horrified.”
“She was a distinguished politician with deep convictions (and a) vivid and fearless character,” he told MPs.
He said it was chilling that during his own 11 years in the Commons, three serving or former MPs have been killed.
He mentioned the two murdered MPs as he said: “I look across at the shield for our dear friend Jo Cox and the shield for Sir David Ames, that sits behind me.
“Now, Mr Speaker, I know this is a House matter, so this is my personal view. But I do believe it is befitting for the House to consider a similar tribute to Ann.”
Bryony Gooch15 July 2026 12:07
Fact check: Zia Yusuf claims police race action plans ’embed clearly structural anti-white prejudice’
As part of the press conference, responding to questions about whether the UK police were biased against Reform UK, Zia Yusuf claimed that the police race action plans introduced following the death of George Floyd in America “embed clearly structural anti-white prejudice”.
He said: “The police are literally being trained to not be colour blind, to not treat people the same, to treat differences in outcome as a problem in and of themselves. Those are literally inside the plans.”
As the United States protested in the summer of 2020 following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, demonstrations also took place in the UK to show solidarity and reflect on a history of police brutality in the UK.
The police race action plans set out following these UK protests included commitments to diversify misconduct panels and provide anti-racism training so that reports of racist behaviour or actions by officers were taken seriously.
The plan laid out changes in hopes that in the future Black people and communities would not be “over-policed” and were instead “treated in a fair and equitable way.”
Charities and police organisations have since reported that institutional racism against ethnic minorities, particularly Black people, remains an issue for British police forces.
Amnesty International reported last year: “Almost three-quarters of police forces have attempted to predict crime by racially profiling communities across the UK.”
The IOPC reported in 2024: “Individuals from a Black or Black British background were searched at a rate five times higher than that of those from a White ethnic group.”
A report by INQUEST in 2023 said: “Black people are seven times more likely to die than White people following the use of restraint by police.”
Bryony Gooch15 July 2026 12:01
Farage claims prime minister told him Ann Widdecombe’s death was ‘botched burglary’
Nigel Farage has claimed that the prime minister and Devon and Cornwall Police told him Ann Widdecombe’s killing was “a burglary that’s gone wrong”.
Police had initially said on Friday that there was “no information” at this time to suggest it was a “politically-motivated crime” prior to Counter Terrorism Police taking the lead on the investigation on Monday, revealing that new information and evidence had come to light.
Mr Farage told TalkTV: “I spoke to the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police three times, I spoke to the Prime Minister as well. And those calls took place over Friday and Saturday.
“And they both told me it’s a burglary that’s gone wrong. I said no it is not, a burglar does not park his car on your drive and walk into the house. A burglar parks in the lay-by down the road and has a getaway driver.
“I went to Dartmoor on Saturday and said I had no doubt this is a premeditated murder. I received tons of abuse for saying it, but sadly it’s proved that I’m right. It was obvious.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaking to the media after he laid a wreath near to the home of Ann Widdecombe (Eleanor Storey/PA) (PA Wire)
Bryony Gooch15 July 2026 11:27
Zia Yusuf dodges The Independent’s question about who would undertake threat assessments for proposed policy
The Independent’s Kate Devlin has asked who would undertake the threat assessment as part of Reform UK’s policy.
“Obviously, the police and the security services have been doing threat assessments on the threats to politicians since they were being targeted by the IRA. What makes you think that your system would be better? And are you suggesting that your policy would be so successful that no violent perpetrators would be able to get around it?”
Mr Yusuf has answered: “Nobody could ever make such a promise. No system is perfect, and all we can try to do is minimise the risk that something like this happens again. Look, in terms of the threat assessments, it’s not just whether there’s a threat assessment; it is at what the threshold is at which point you deploy resources.
“So, you know, I’ve got no evidence that threat assessments themselves documents coming back. Again, I’m not privy to them, but I’ve got no evidence that those are inadequate. But what I think is absolutely inadequate is the budget and resource being allocated against that.”
Bryony Gooch15 July 2026 11:19
Fact check: Zia Yusuf accuses Labour MPs of ‘incitement’ – here are there quotes contextualised
Zia Yusuf read quotes from Labour MPs about the late Ann Widdecombe as he accised rival politicians of “incitement”.
He accused David Lammy of calling Ms Widdecombe a “poisonous bigot” who wants to “drag us back to the 19th century,” and “throw minorities out in the cold on the way.”
Mr Lammy actually said Ms Widdecombe was “Absolutely poisonous. Bigots like Ann Widdecombe want to drag us back to the 19th century, throwing minorities out in the cold on the way. We must stand up to them before it is too late.”
This was in response to Ms Widdecombe’s claims in 2019 that a cure for homosexuality could be possible.
He said former health secretary Wes Streeting said: “If only science had a cure for Ann Widdecombe.”
This was also in response to Ms Widdecombe’s comments on gay cure therapy.
Mr Yusuf cited a tweet from Jess Phillips, where she said: “Anne Widdecombe better go this week. She is a little fascist beast.”
Ms Phillips made the post in November 2010, saying “Ann Widdecombe better go this week not only is she a little fascist beast but also an anti abortionist, what a lovely women (sic)”.
This post was written while Ms Widdecombe was taking part in Strictly Come Dancing.
Bryony Gooch15 July 2026 11:10
Yusuf defends his own comments calling the Tories ‘traitors’ and Starmer ‘sick and depraved’ after condemning criticism of Reform
Zia Yusuf has defended comments made by Reform UK after BBC Radio 4’s Alex Forsyth raised the point that he had called the prime minister “sick and depraved”, and said the Tories are “open borders lunatics who deserve their extinction”.
He said: “I think there’s a clear difference between some of the things you’ve read out there, and if we’re comparing them not to the obvious death threats.
“Obviously, we can’t compare those things. I think those are clear for anybody in this room. Those are not controversial.
“But comparing them to some of the comments from existing members of the government, by the way, likening reform to the Nazis, likening reform to the fascists regimes that are clearly the most brutal and horrific in history, and saying that they pose an urgent threat that need to be stopped. I think those are in a different category.”
(AFP/Getty)
Bryony Gooch15 July 2026 10:58
‘I do not want to see another politician killed in this country,’ Zia Yusuf says
The Independent’s Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
The senior Reform figure said: “I do not want to see another politician killed in this country. I do not want to see what happened to Ann happen to anyone.
Bryony Gooch15 July 2026 10:53
Reform to ensure MPs receive full security if they win next general election, Yusuf says
Zia Yusuf has declared that if Reform win the next general election, they will call for full security to be provided to all MPs.
“If Reform win the next general election as Home Secretary, I will ensure that all members of Parliament of all parties are provided with round-the-clock protection.
“We will also allocate significant new resources to protect former politicians still active in public life.
“No matter how much I, Nigel, Richard, or anyone else may disagree with your views, if you are an MP, you must be able to air them without fear.”
Bryony Gooch15 July 2026 10:52