Despite Devon and Cornwall Police’s earlier statements that the murder of former Tory MP and Reform member Anne Widecombe was not terrorism related it appears that there might indeed be a terrorism aspect to this horrific story. Recently it was claimed that Devon and Cornwall Police had called in the Metropolitan Police for assistance in a move reminiscent of the old days when smaller forces had to call in Scotland Yard by phoning Whitehall 1212 when they were faced with a crime that was bigger than found on their usual crime menu.

It’s obvious now that this is more than likely not a random murder although the Counter Terror Police will examine this case in great depth to determine whether there is a terror aspect to this case or whether it is one of those situations where you have a non-ideological but dangerous fixated individual. The involvement of Counter Terror officers in this case does to a large extent vindicate those members of the public who castigated Devon and Cornwall Police for not treating this case as some form of terrorism or at least not discount it as early as the local police did.

This case has now taken on a whole new dimension with the involvement of Counter Terror police. It is they who will have to trawl through evidence to ascertain whether anyone who is accused in connection to this case was working alone or was acting with or inspired by others? There’s going to be political fall out from this even before any trial. Already I’m seeing claims by Reform that the Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle had not taken worries about security seriously enough when brought to the Speaker’s attention.

This case has opened up a massive can of worms whose contents range from the shiftiness and incompetence of Devon and Cornwall Police, the dismissal of concerns from the public and the press about the possibility of this attack being terrorism and has highlighted the additional threat that Reform MP’s face from the more crazy parts of the Left and from religious sectarians. I’m beginning to see the murder of Ms Widdecombe not just as a crime but a political and social pivot point. Ms Widdecombe’s murder has hit a national nerve and who knows what changes both positive and negative this terrible crime might precipitate in the future. I’m old enough to recall the abrupt uptick in the robustness and sometimes intrusiveness of government security after the MP Airey Neave was murdered by the IRA and the Tory leadership was attacked in the Brighton bombing. Attacks like these foment rapid changes and I await to see what these changes might be, hopefully ones for the better.