A 26-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of murdering former MP and MEP Ann Widdecombe has been released from custody and is no longer part of the investigation, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

The ex-Tory prisons minister was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor on Thursday after sustaining serious injuries.

Ms Widdecombe, who was 78, later became a Brexit Party MEP and subsequently a Reform UK spokeswoman.

She also found fame outside politics after starring in Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.

The case of her death is “not being treated as terrorism” and there is “no information” at this time to suggest it was a “politically-motivated crime”, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

The police force’s Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said the white British suspect was arrested at an address in Newton Abbot on Friday.

He was later released and is no longer part of the investigation.

Police are remaining “open-minded” about the motive for the attack, and said it was too early to comment on whether the suspect was known to Miss Widdecombe.

In a statement on social media, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the former MP and MEP’s death, and subsequent police murder investigation, was a “terrible reflection on modern Britain”.

In a video statement published on social media, he added: “And I do fear that for anybody in public life, or especially the political space, things have become even more dangerous today.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urged people to come together across political divides following the murder.

He said he had spoken to his likely successor Andy Burnham, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK’s Mr Farage to “urge everybody to come together at a moment like this”.

Conservative leader Mrs Badenoch said she “really struggled to find the words to say” following Miss Widdecombe’s death.

“I don’t understand how someone could do something so horrific to an elderly person. It was a nasty, horrific attack and my heart is breaking for her family,” she added.