Ann Widdecombe has died, murder suspected

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

The suspect in the brutal murder of Ann Widdecombe had Russian communist literature and other political ideology at his home, it has been claimed. In a dramatic escalation, counter-terrorism officers yesterday took over the investigation into the death of the former Tory minister and Reform UK spokesman, with the killing being treated as a suspected politically motivated terrorist attack.


https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/22...ist-literature


interesting development if true

Very. Russia seems to want to stir up trouble in the west by murdering people and using bots to post inflammatory comments on social media.

[Dingbat]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

interesting development if true

The Express and the word true are rarely used in the same sentence. And why suddenly is everyone and everything bad “communist”?

Why not wait and see what the police say?

It is another case of waiting. Obviously, 'Russian communist literature' gives some direction on the guy's political views, but it could be just part of a broader spectrum of political literature he has spanning ideologies. Ownership of political literature isn't always an indicator of support for that ideology. We would need to see what else is there, which we might not know for a while.

It's also not clear what it means. Is it full-on propaganda? A book about Russian communism? Literature written by a Russian communist?

[Carth]

I also thought it was rather vague and could cover almost everything . . I'd also surmise many people in politics have read (or own) books that may be classed now as communist literature . . . all part of their University studies in Politics of course

[papa smurf]

Ann Widdecombe latest: Politician killed in 'targeted attack', counter terror chief says
Counter terror police say Ann Widdecombe was killed in a "targeted attack" and that officers are working to understand the motive. A 28-year-old suspect remains in custody for questioning.

https://news.sky.com/story/ann-widde...ation-13563394

Originally Posted by Carth

I also thought it was rather vague and could cover almost everything . . I'd also surmise many people in politics have read (or own) books that may be classed now as communist literature . . . all part of their University studies in Politics of course

Appositely enough, Ann Widdecombe studied PPE* (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) at Oxford (Lady Margaret Hall, in her case).

*as did Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, David Cameron, William Hague, Lord Heseltine, Shirley Williams, Edwina Currie, Barbara Castle, David and Ed Miliband, Ed Balls, Lord Mandelson, Jacqui Smith, Ruth Kelly, James Purnell, Nick Robinson, Toby Young, Robert Peston, Liz Truss, Ed Davey, Rishi Sunak, Nigel Lawson, Jeremy Hunt, and Rupert Murdoch…

Not a surprise given what we know but: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...ing-motivation

The police investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe is examining whether a leftwing or single-issue cause may lie behind her killing, the Guardian has learned.

Among issues detectives are investigating are whether a hatred of Widdecombe’s strong views, such as on homosexuality, was a factor. They are also examining whether extreme hostility to the Reform UK party played a role.

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by Damien

Not a surprise given what we know but: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...ing-motivation

Homosexuality was a strange one where she was concerned. A lot of the gay community disliked her because of her views, attempts to block gay rights and for saying that "one day science may produce a cure"! On the other hand, a lot of gay people say that she was the most polite right winger that they had ever spoken to and, despite her homophobic views, she had gay friends who she treated with courtesy & respect.