Henry Nowak pleaded with his killer, ‘I’m not a racist’, as he lay dying after being stabbed, newly released court documents have revealed. 

Vickrum Digwa, 23, used an eight-inch ceremonial dagger to stab Mr Nowak and told a ‘wicked lie’ about him to the first officers on the scene, claiming that the finance student shouted racist abuse, punched him and knocked off his turban.

The injured student was then arrested as he lay dying on the ground, drowning in his own blood. 

The teenager said four times to the police, ‘I’ve been stabbed’, to which one policeman replied, ‘I don’t think you have mate’.

Digwa was sentenced to life with a minimum of 21 years in prison for the murder, which sparked widespread outrage over Hampshire Police’s handling of the case.    

New court documents have revealed details of the moments after the stabbing. 

Andrew Mortimore, a resident of the street where the stabbing took place told the court that he and his wife Fiona were reading in bed at around 11.15pm. 

They then heard shouting and male voices ‘arguing loudly’. 

Police bodycam footage shows innocent victim Henry Nowak, 18, being forced into handcuffs by officers after he was stabbed repeatedly by a knife-obsessed Sikh man 

An image released by the CPS of killer Digwa wearing a Sikh kirpan ceremonial knife 

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He told the court: ‘During the time I was observing these people outside the block of flats, I think I heard a male voice say, “I’m not racist.” I couldn’t hear anything else that was being said. These are the only actual words I think I heard.’

Nicholas Lobbenberg KC, prosecuting, told the jury: ‘Even as Henry is dying [he said] I’m not a racist… That was heard by Andrew Mortimore, one of the witnesses that was read to you, and as he lay dying, Henry denied that he was the attacker.’

The documents, first obtained by The Sunday Times, showed that the prosecutor had told the court that the murderer’s brother, Gurpreet, called the police and claimed Mr Nowak ‘verbally attacked my brother racially’. 

Mr Nowak can be heard pleading in the background: ‘No, I didn’t’.

Documents also showed that Mr Nowak’s former girlfriend had completely rejected claims that he was a racist. 

The woman of Jamaican and Irish descent told the court that her race had ‘never been an issue’ in their relationship. 

She said: ‘In fact, Henry was very proud of my heritage.’  

Mr Nowak died from drowning in his own blood shortly after his wrongful arrest.

Digwa, 23, was found guilty of murdering student Henry, 18, with an eight-inch ceremonial blade

Following the killer’s sentencing, the Nowak family released photos of Henry as a child

Judge William Mousley KC said he was ‘sure’ Mr Nowak never said anything racist to the murderer. 

Digwa was caught on camera saying ‘I am a bad man’ before the fatal attack. 

The documents also showed that police had secretly bugged a police van, which carried Digwa and his brother Gurpreet.

In the van, Gurpreet asked his brother: ‘What did you do? Did you do anything?’ Digwa replied ‘yes’ and pointed at the various parts of his body where he had stabbed Mr Nowak. 

Gurpreet told his brother: ‘You should have hit him or beaten him up. Why did you use the kirpan?’ Digwa replied: ‘I am a fool. I’m an idiot.’ 

It was revealed last month that it took eight minutes for police to find the stab wound that killed Mr Nowak. 

After realising that Mr Nowak was not breathing, police officers gave CPR but realised that blood was coming from his nose. 

After all of Henry’s clothes were cut away, the extent of his injuries became even more apparent. 

Henry pictured with his father Mark, who blasted police for how his son was treated in his final moments

‘Has he been stabbed there?’ the male officer asked, before saying he was ‘pushing on a [swear word] stab wound’.

When a paramedic ran up to them, the male police officer explained that they had ‘just discovered a stab wound’ in Henry’s chest.

The two officers who were first to arrive at the scene are now being investigated by the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) for potential gross misconduct. 

Digwa last week denied a string of charges relating to the possession of an arsenal of 55 offensive weapons.

Vickrum appeared remotely from Frankland Prison in County Durham today at Southampton Magistrates’ Court, alongside his brother, 27-year-old Gurpreet Digwa, and his father, 52-year-old Moga Singh, who have also been charged with owning illegal weapons at their home in Southampton. 

Their trial will be held on September 27 next year. 

The Prince and Princess of Wales will take their two eldest children to watch the Wimbledon men’s final on Sunday afternoon.

The Princess, who is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) will be joined by the Prince, as well as Prince George, 12, and Princess Charlotte, 11, to watch Jannik Sinner compete against Alexander Zverev.

The Wales family, who also attended Wimbledon last year without Prince Louis, eight, will arrive on the players’ lawn before heading to Centre Court’s Royal Box for the duration of the final.

They will be joined in the box by Deborah Jevans, the chairman of the AELTC, and a gathering of screen stars including Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller, Nicole Kidman, Rami Malek and Sienna Miller.

Last year, Prince George admitted he was “all right” at tennis ahead of the final match in a discussion with doubles champion Julian Cash.

In a discussion about the eldest Wales child playing tennis, Cash asked if he was any good, to which the young Prince appeared to shrug and reply: “I’m all right.”

The 12-year-old is known to be a keen tennis enthusiast, like his sister and mother.

Their appearance on Sunday marks the Princess of Wales’s third time at Wimbledon during this year’s championships. She also attended the women’s final on Saturday, where she presented the Venus Rosewater Dish to Linda Noskova.

During the first week of the competition, the Princess also surprised tennis fans by meeting people in Wimbledon’s famous queue and later handing out tickets to attendees. She also watched British wild card Arthur Fery on Court 18 for 30 minutes alongside former pro Tim Henman.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staple of Washington for more than three decades who went from being a vocal critic of Donald Trump to his most enthusiastic backer in the Senate, died Saturday evening at the age of 71.

Perhaps more than anyone, the lawmaker from South Carolina epitomized the Republican Party’s shift from opposing Trump to accepting his reshaping of the GOP.

And it paid off. A longtime military hawk, Graham became Trump’s biggest supporter of the war in Iran. A former bipartisan dealmaker who continued to enjoy friendships with Democrats ranging from former President Joe Biden to liberals like Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, he morphed into a hardcore partisan warrior.

Graham was often a man who played second fiddle to more influential Republicans such as former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott or his mentor, the late Senator John McCain. But he would come to obtain power on his own, ending his tenure as Senate Budget Committee Chairman and an intermediary between Republicans on Capitol Hill and the White House.

Graham’s passing signifies one of the last vestiges of Senate congeniality and genteel behavior while at the same time, shows how many senior Republican figures willingly bequeathed power to Trump.

Humble beginnings shaped by tragedy

Lindsey Olin Graham was born on July 9, 1955, to parents who ran a pool hall, liquor store and restaurant. Graham’s father, Florence James Graham, died when he was 21, and his mother, Millie, died shortly thereafter. He became the guardian to his sister Darline, and used Social Security survivor benefits to put her through school.

“There’s a time in my life when that Social Security check really, really mattered,” Graham said in a Senate hearing earlier this year.

Graham graduated from the University of South Carolina for both his undergraduate and law degrees; he served in the US Air Force as an active-duty lawyer before joining the Air Force Reserves.

He was elected to the state legislature in 1992 before winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, during the 1994 “Republican revolution,” when the party took control of the lower chamber for the first time in more than 40 years.

In the House, Graham would serve as an impeachment manager in the Senate trial against then President Bill Clinton.

“Human failings exist in all of us,” he said in 1999. “Only when it gets to be so premeditated, so calculated, so much my interest over anybody else, or the public be damned. Should you really, really start getting serious about what to do.”

Crossing the aisle

Despite this, when Graham came to the Senate in 2003, he worked occasionally with the former president’s wife, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, helping National Guard members and reserve personnel purchase TRICARE, the military health insurance program. It would be part of a series of policies that Graham would work on with Democrats.

As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he often traveled with the committee’s chairman Joe Biden, who would go on to become vice president to Barack Obama and president in his own right. In a 2015 interview with HuffPost, Graham would say that Biden “is as good a man as God ever created.”

Often with the assistance of McCain, his mentor and a Navy veteran who was revered in the Senate, Graham would lead bipartisan congressional delegations across the globe. He also would vote to confirm two of Barack Obama’s nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court: Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, though he would join other Senate Republicans in blocking the nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court in 2016, paving the way for Trump to nominate Justice Neil Gorsuch.

In 2013, Graham along with other Republicans like Senator Marco Rubio, worked with a group of Democrats to pass legislation that would beef up border security provisions in exchange for providing a path to citizen for undocumented immigrants. That “Gang of Eight” legislation would pass the Senate, but would be stalled in the House as the Republican majority refused to put it to a floor vote.

From Trump’s biggest opponent to champion in the Senate

In 2015, Graham would stage a quixotic run for president around the same time that Donald Trump, then a businessman and reality television star, would seek the Republican nomination. Graham never gained much traction, but earned Trump’s ire when he called him “a jackass,” which led to Trump publicizing his personal phone number. When Trump called for a shutdown on Muslims entering the U.S., Graham called Trump a “a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.”

After Trump won the presidency, Graham adopted a more hardline stance. Often plagued by accusations of being a “Republican in Name Only,” or RINO, and facing primary challenges, his support from Trump offered a cache he otherwise did not have.

But Graham would ultimately be embraced by many on the MAGA right for his full-throated defense of Judge Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings in 2018. At the time, Kavanaugh faced allegations of sexual assault and Graham railed against Democrats, accusing them of weaponizing the accusations.

“What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020,” Graham said in the hearing, which came in the weeks ahead of the midterm elections. “This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics.”

In 2020, Graham became chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he facilitated the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. But a few months later, after the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol, Graham would distance himself from Trump.

“Trump and I, we had a hell of a journey. I hate it being this way. I hate it being this way,” he said. “All I can say is, count me out. Enough is enough.”

Graham would change his tune in 2023, though, becoming one of the first Republicans to endorse Trump’s reelection campaign. Graham’s traction with the White House once again increased.

A robust military hawk

Graham’s pull with the White House manifested itself most prominently as he became Trump’s biggest cheerleader for the Iran war.

A longtime military hawk, Graham had vocally supported both the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and compared Trump’s efforts in Iran to British wartime leader Winston Churchill. This earned him contempt on the right, particularly in the more “America First” isolationist wing of the Republican Party.

Like his late friend John McCain, Graham remained a steadfast supporter of Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But Graham was also a steadfast supporter of Ukraine despite Trump’s skepticism of that conflict with Russia. Last week, Graham visited Ukraine as he sought to promote a bipartisan sanctions bill against the Kremlin.

It is not entirely clear how Graham will be replaced. South Carolina held its primary last month, where Graham easily won the Republican nomination ahead of November’s midterms. South Carolina law says that filing for candidates to replace Graham opens a week from Tuesday and a substitution primary will take place.

Jannik Sinner has beaten Alexander Zverev in four sets for his second consecutive Wimbledon title and fifth Grand Slam trophy. The top-ranked Italian lost the first set of the men’s final but recovered to win 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday at the All England Club.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Planners granted permission for a homeowner to lower her property’s boundary wall on St Mellons Road, despite objections from neighbours who described it as a historic heritage feature

A homeowner has been granted permission to lower a boundary wall despite local residents arguing it holds “architecturally significant” value, Newport councillors have ruled.

The city council’s planning committee heard how Stefania Farmer wants to lower the height of the side wall at her property in Marshfield in order to improve sightlines from a newly installed driveway.

She is also seeking retrospective permission for the driveway at 21 St Mellons Road, the committee was told at a meeting on Wednesday, July 1. Make sure you never miss Wales’ biggest updates by getting our daily newsletter.

Local resident Cath Davis argued that reducing the wall’s height risked causing “permanent harm” to a “historic feature” that has stood for 150 years.

She described the wall as an “architecturally significant heritage feature that contributes greatly to the character and identity of this part of St Mellons Road”.

The committee was warned that lowering the wall may prove problematic, and that “once lost it is lost forever”.

Five neighbouring residents raised objections during a recent public consultation, while one of the ward’s elected representatives, Cllr Allan Screen, voiced concerns that the proposals risked “altering the fundamental character and nature of the surrounding area”.

He said creating a new access point to the property raised road safety concerns, adding that the council “needs to take a stronger stance” following a previous refusal of planning permission for a driveway on the site.

Case officer Adam Foote said that planners were “satisfied the reutilisation of a previous access is acceptable in principle”, and that lowering the wall “will in turn improve visibility” to and from the driveway.

“From our perspective, we have no tangible reason to refuse this application,” he told the committee.

Mr Foote also acknowledged that certain objections had raised questions over ownership of the wall, but confirmed the council had seen “no evidence to the contrary” that it belonged to the applicant.

The committee was told that the wall could be modified or demolished entirely without the need for planning permission — which was solely required for the proposed new driveway.

Cllr Mark Howells told fellow committee members “there would be nothing we could do to stop (the applicant) knocking that wall down”.

“While I have some sympathy, I think our hands are tied,” he added.

A majority of committee members voted to approve the planning application, subject to conditions.

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There are only so many times you can fire a ball at a wall before feeling the urge to bash your head against one. Against such truisms, Alexander Zverev succumbed to the familiar pain of an afternoon with Jannik Sinner, the champion of Wimbledon once again.

Across the course of three hours, 46 minutes and four sets, Zverev threw it all at the world No 1. He served missiles, he attacked with forehands that defied reason, and he even led for a while.

But walls are tough. Walls stand firm. Walls keep sending balls back. And so, with a splattering of genius and to a sense of the inevitable, Sinner flipped this final and won his fifth Slam title 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4.

He spared precious few frills or emotions along the way and even fewer break points – just one in fact. And, for the record, he saved it.

There were shades of Novak Djokovic in how he soaked up Zverev’s pressure in the first two sets and likewise in how he then turned the screw, slowly and in torturous little increments.

Was it spectacular? Not always, but bricks were never meant to be sexy. They are good for building, though, and by the age of 24 Sinner has already built something quite spectacular with his career.

The top seed and world No1 beat Alexander Zverev 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court

‘It feels amazing,’ Sinner said after being reunited with the trophy he first won last year. ‘I want to start with Sascha (Zverev). Today you were so, so close I’m sure if you play like this you’ll have one of these (trophies at home as well).

‘I know another goal of yours is to become No 1 in the world, you are very close so we have to be very careful now!’

As he spoke, Centre Court responded in that way it does on these occasions – they clapped in the right places and fawned in others.

But is that the same love? Will success ever open that door for Sinner? Because he doesn’t play like Roger Federer. And he doesn’t emote like Rafa Nadal or Djokovic. Nor does he have the sheer pizzaz or creative impulses of Carlos Alcaraz, his great, absent contemporary.

No, Sinner doesn’t do those things – he kills you with his astonishing footspeed, with his sleights of hands that pivot defence to attack, with his quadruple-digit tennis IQ, and with his refusal to panic in high-stress moments, which is why he was able to dominate the second-set tiebreak in the face of going 2-0 down. Rise of the robots? With Sinner, it can feel that way.

But we also know there are other reasons for why Sinner is an awkward champion and they go to his brief ban last year for a failed drugs test.

We don’t need to relitigate that case in full here, but there would not have been a surprise if his suspension for doping – accepted quickly by the authorities as an accident – had stretched closer to the usual two years. That would have wiped out his 2025 title and this one, by the way, so fans can follow their own minds on what should be celebrated.

The same could also be applied to Zverev, of course. He has always denied the allegations of domestic abuse from two previous girlfriends, one of whom is the mother of his daughter, so there were no shortage of clouds on this summer’s day.

Zverev (right) thanked the crowd for their support as he joked he no longer likes his opponent

But Centre Court is rarely a place where tough questions get asked by the punters – they clapped both men on to the lawn, with Prince William, Princess Catherine and their children among the clappers of the Royal Box.

What followed was fascinating, mainly for the way in which Zverev attempted to shift the immovable object. His history with Sinner is startling for its one-sidedness, which had seen the Italian win each of their past nine matches in straight sets, and the German’s attempt at a solution was remarkably ballsy.

Perhaps that was the confidence borne from his breakthrough win at the French Open – or maybe it was the last remaining option of failing with all other approaches.

But he went for everything, especially on his forehand. He lashed at it, devil-may-care, and he was never going to die wondering. The scoreboard told us about a first set that stayed rigidly on serve, with only a single break point to Sinner and none for Zverev, but the latter’s courage in taking those risks should not be understated.

He was lower on winners than Sinner and higher on unforced errors – 15 compared Sinner’s five across those first 12 games – but he wouldn’t relent. He wouldn’t back down, and we haven’t always been able to say that about him in this of all duels. Often, his deference has been his enemy, but not this time, and not with 74 per cent of those 130mph-plus serves hitting their mark, and his reward came in the tiebreak.

Having survived setpoint at 6-7 with a 134mph ace, Zverev edged ahead and then fired a howling forehand winner for 9-7, claiming his first set in 15 attempts against Sinner.

With it, Zverev roared at his box and it was justified – his serving had been immense, so too the bravery of his approach.

But could it last? Would the wheels fall off?

The Princess of Wales was on hand to present the trophy aftrer watching the final from the Royal Box

Initially, the second set kept to an identical pattern of no breaks, no break points and, frankly, no abundance of fun. When Prince William and his boy George disappeared for a time, the easy assumption was that a shootout between servers had grown royally tiresome.

But the second tiebreak parted quickly from the pattern of the first, with Zverev ballooning a forehand long on the opening point and from there he unravelled quickly – 7-2. Into the third and suddenly there was a modicum more drama, with Zverev earning and failing to take his first break point at 3-3, before a mishit forehand gifted Sinner the next game against serve.

Closing the set 6-3, he appeared to have withstood the storm, and a forehand winner to break for 4-3 in the fourth ensured he had a hand on the trophy. Another on Championship point added the second hand and a second Wimbledon title.

The former Tudor queen stopped by this village before she made her way to another part of Cambridgeshire

There are many parts of Cambridgeshire that have been visited or even lived in by royalty. The county played an important role in the Tudor era, especially with Catherine of Aragon.

The former Tudor queen, and Henry VIII’s first wife, was buried at Peterborough Cathedral. However, in the years before she died, she lived in other parts of Cambridgeshire.

After Henry got bored of Catherine and found his next wife in Anne Boleyn, Catherine was banished to Buckden, near St Neots. Catherine was sent to live at Buckden Palace, known today as Buckden Towers. She stayed in the palace from July 1533 to May 1534. She was then sent to nearby Kimbolton Castle where she died in 1536.

Years later after Catherine died, Henry VIII stayed in Buckden Palace with his fifth wife Catherine Howard in 1541, they stayed there during a summer tour took before the coronation.

It was during this tour that Catherine was accused of adultery with Thomas Culpeper, which led to her beheading for treason in 1542. Other notable figures stayed at the former palace, including Henry VIII’s ancestors.

These were Henry III in 1248, Edward I in 1291, Richard III in 1483 and also Lady Margaret Beaufort, Henry VIII’s mother, in 1501. Hundreds of years later in 1956, it was given to the Claretian Missionaries.

It was initially used as a junior seminary and used for preliminary training for 11 to 18-year-olds who wanted to become Claretian missionary priests of brothers. However, this closed in 1965.

Today, Buckden Towers is a scheduled monument. The buildings aren’t open to the public, but the grounds are. Some pretty features of the grounds include the Knot Garden. This is accessed from the outer court.

It’s made up of a stone paved terrace with an inner gatehouse. There is a central fountain and stone paths to walk along.

The village of Buckden is home to around 3,000 people. As well as its historically significant towers, there is more on offer in the traditional village. The houses that fill the village are a mix of the modern and old. People will find a range of thatched cottages, but also large detached family homes and modern estates.

There are a number of highly rated pubs to eat and drink at while on a visit there. These include The Vine, the Coach House, as well as The Lion Hotel and George Hotel.

Images appear to show people setting off fireworks on tinder-dry moors by Dovestone Reservoir, Saddleworth in Oldham before huge wildfires broke out amid scorching temperatures

A crowd has been slammed for appearing to set off fireworks on tinder-dry moors around a reservoir before a huge wildfire blaze broke out.

Incidents of wildfires have broken out up and down the country in recent days and the Met Office has said the scorching heatwave conditions are due to continue this week, with most areas expected to stay dry, sunny and very hot.

And in shocking images, people appear to be seen with fireworks by Dovestone Reservoir in Greenfield, near Saddleworth in Oldham, where there have now been wildfires on the moors.

A young woman can be seen holding a rocket launcher as a firework explodes out from it on the moors, and another firework then appears to spark a blaze in dry grasses, before a group of bystanders runs over to the smoking section of moorland.

Further images later show flames quickly spreading across a hillside at the Saddleworth beauty spot.

It is understood that youngsters had gathered in tribute to a teenager who tragically died in the reservoir on Friday night. Karl Holland, 18, lost his life after getting into difficulties in the water, with his body sadly recovered later.

But as emergency crews desperately battle to bring the flames under control, the use of fireworks so close to moorland has been condemned by locals.

One person said: “I’m truly sorry for the family mourning their loss, but these idiots need to be prosecuted. What sort of absolute idiot sets off fireworks on a tinder-dry moor in a heatwave?”

Another post on social media claimed the firefighters who attended the reservoir in the aftermath of Karl’s death were the same crews called back up to the moors to fight the wildfire, which was continuing to rage on Sunday (July 12).

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“Setting fireworks off on a moor that is very dry from the heat is not a beautiful way to pay respect,” said another post. “It’s extremely dangerous.”

Social media posts show multiple fireworks being let off, with youths pictured running as fires start on the ground. Fire crews raced to the scene after reports of a moorland blaze around the reservoir at around 8.45pm on Saturday night.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service stressed today that no specific cause has been identified as yet with an investigation underway. The fire service said: “GMFRS continues to urge people not to use disposable barbecues, light campfires or set off fireworks on or near moorland. In the current dry conditions, even a small spark can quickly develop into a significant fire.”

Members of the public have again been told to avoid the area, and those living nearby have been told to keep all windows and doors closed.

A witness told the Manchester Evening News that a number of people set off fireworks and the smouldering remains of a box of fireworks could be seen left dumped on a footpath. They said: “We tried pouring what water we had on bushes, but there wasn’t enough, and fire marshals came past us with bottles of water. However, despite already causing an initial fire, these people continued to set off fireworks and set fire to items they had.”

A helicopter could be seen dropping gallons of water onto the burning moorland from above and a fire service spokesperson said on Sunday: “Firefighters remain in attendance, supported by specialist wildfire resources and partner agencies, as they continue to tackle the incident.

“Overnight, crews monitored the fire from safe locations due to challenging terrain and low light conditions. At first light, firefighters returned to the moorland and have continued work to contain the fire and prevent further spread.

“Specialist wildfire units, off-road vehicles and drone support have been deployed to assist operations, with crews focusing on limiting fire spread across the moorland and ridge areas.

“United Utilities is supporting the multi-agency response. Firefighters will remain at the scene throughout the day while work continues. Members of the public are asked to avoid the area where possible to allow emergency services and partner agencies to carry out their work safely.”

Police say they are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with Ms Widdecombe’s death

A major update has been issued amid the ongoing Ann Widdecombe murder probe. The 78-year-old former MP was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor at around 11.40am on Thursday after sustaining serious injuries.

Now it has emerged that a man put a ‘wooden stick’ in a car outside an address linked to the Ann Widdecombe murder suspect before driving off on the morning she is believed to have been attacked, it has been reported.

The former Conservative minister and ex-Reform UK spokeswoman, was found dead at her home after sustaining serious injuries. A murder investigation was then launched into her death and remains ongoing.

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On Sunday (July 12), there was a substantial police presence at a house in Byrley Road in the Kimberworth Park area of Rotherham – more than 200 miles from the former minister’s home in Devon. It comes after Devon and Cornwall Police said a 28-year-old white British man had been arrested on suspicion of murder in the South Yorkshire town on Saturday evening.

CCTV footage seen by The Telegraph appears to show a man leaving an address linked to the suspect at around 7am on Wednesday, the day Miss Widdecombe is believed to have been attacked. The man is said to have been seen putting ‘some kind of wooden stick’ into the passenger side of a red car before driving off, it was reported.

Police have said they are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with Ms Widdecombe’s death. Detectives said there is nothing to suggest it was politically-motivated or terrorism-related at this time.

Neighbours in Byrley Road told of how the police arrived at the terraced property just before the kick-off of the England World Cup match on Saturday night. A number of units arrived and officers took a red car from the driveway at about 3am.

On Sunday evening, a South Yorkshire Police Tactical Support Group van was parked outside the house with at least two other marked vehicles, and forensics officers in white overalls were going in and out of the property.

One neighbour said: “It all happened just before the match. When we came home from watching it there were just two plain police cars there but everyone says there were loads more here before that.”

Miss Widdecombe, who was 78, was first elected a Conservative MP in Kent in 1987, and went on to serve as an MEP for the Brexit Party and then a spokeswoman for Reform UK. She also found fame outside politics after starring in Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.

On Sunday, Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “At this point, there is still no information to suggest that this is a terrorism-related incident and at this point we are not looking for anyone else in connection with this murder. At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that it was politically motivated.”

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He said detectives ‘remain open-minded about the potential motive’ and stressed there is not believed to be any threat to the wider public. He added: “We are aware of online and public speculation, particularly with regards to motive.

“Again, I urge people not to share or engage with that speculation – it’s unhelpful, it doesn’t aid our investigation, and particularly, it’s distressing to the family and friends of Miss Widdecombe.”

Chief Constable James Vaughan, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said the force has ‘mounted an extraordinary response to a horrific murder of a very prominent public figure’. “The operation has been running at a lightning pace for 48 hours,” he added.

“I am really pleased that we have a suspect firmly in custody and that will undergo some further work from us today. Well done to all – this is clearly British policing at its very best.”

The Queen’s former chef says one of the reasons behind Prince Harry and his family not staying at Buckingham Palace could be down to catering.

The Duke was forced to hastily look for a place to sleep after being told he could not stay at the royal residence.

It came after his spokesman announced on Monday morning that he had finally accepted an offer to stay for his visit last week.

Darren McGrady, who has cooked for all the family, said food may be behind the decision.

“Buckingham Palace is going through its major restoration – no one is there, and all the chefs, for the most part, have gone,” he told royal website CheatSheet.

“It would be a major operation to suddenly, at the very last minute, bring in a team of chefs and prepare the food. It wouldn’t just be chefs, but also bringing in the maids, security, and footmen. I do see the point in what they’re saying with regards to Harry coming and staying at the Palace.”