LONDON (AFP) — Anti-terrorism police have taken charge of an investigation into the killing of veteran British right-wing politician Ann Widdecombe after fresh evidence emerged, the UK interior minister said on Monday.

Police said that a suspect detained over the weekend in connection to the attack on the 78-year-old former Conservative minister has now been re-arrested on suspicion of committing, preparing, or instigating “terrorism.”

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced that following “new information and evidence,” Counter Terrorism Policing “are now leading on the investigation into the horrific murder” of Widdecombe, who was found dead Thursday at her home in southwest England.

The head of UK counterterrorism policing, Laurence Taylor, said in a statement that “we are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry to establish the motivation for this attack.”

The regional police force initially leading the investigation, Devon and Cornwall Police, said Monday that a suspect arrested earlier had been “re-arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism.”

On Saturday, they had arrested a 28-year-old white British man in Yorkshire in northern England, about 300 miles (480 kilometers) from Widdecombe’s home, on suspicion of murder.

Police initially said there was “no information to suggest that this is a terrorism related incident.”

Mahmood said the killing was a “dark day in our political life” and “raises questions about the security of those in public life” as well as that of former MPs.

But she told parliament the suspect arrested was........

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