Counter-terrorism police have taken over the investigation into the murder of Reform UK politician Ann Widdecombe in Dartmoor last Wednesday, British police announced on Monday.

The arrested 28-year-old is now suspected of having “committed, prepared or instigated acts of terrorism”, reports the Daily Mail, describing the development as a “dramatic twist”.

Specialists from the counter-terrorism unit have taken over the investigation into the death of the 78-year-old former minister in Devon last week.

A 28-year-old white British man from Rotherham was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of murder.

The development casts the police’s repeated assurances from the very beginning—that there was nothing to suggest a political or terrorist motive—in a poor light. The public now understands that this is a standard phrase used for as long as the authorities do not know it to be untrue.

Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) said that new information and evidence had come to light, prompting it to assume responsibility for the investigation. The nature of the new evidence or information has not been disclosed.

The police’s conduct indicates that terrorism was in fact suspected from the outset:

Specialists from across the UK Counter Terrorism Policing network have been working alongside Devon and Cornwall Police since the murder investigation was launched last week.