Murder charge in the attack on former British politician Ann Widdecombe
A man charged with murder in the killing of former British politician Ann Widdecombe in her home struck her 21 times on the head with a hammer, a prosecutor told a court hearing on Tuesday, reports BritPanorama.
Joshua Kerry, 28, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London over the killing that shocked the public and the political establishment.
Widdecombe was eating lunch when Kerry drove to her house in an isolated village in southwest England. He repeatedly beat her with the hammer and then took her wallet as he left, prosecutor Kashif Malik said.
The provisional cause of death was listed as blunt force injury to the head.
Kerry was charged Monday while in custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder and acts of terror. Authorities are continuing to investigate his motive, including a potential political or terrorist connection, according to prosecutors.
Widdecombe, 78, a former member of Parliament and government minister, was known for her blunt-spoken socially conservative views opposing abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.
She is believed to have been attacked on July 8, the day she failed to appear for a scheduled TV interview. Her body was discovered by her gardener the following day.
Kerry was arrested on July 11 in South Yorkshire, a county in northern England, more than 250 miles (400 kilometers) from Haytor, the village where Widdecombe lived.
Initially arrested on suspicion of murder, he was rearrested on suspicion of commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism after new evidence emerged while he was in custody.
Widdecombe served as an MP in the House of Commons from 1987 to 2010, holding the position of prisons minister in Prime Minister John Major’s Conservative government during the 1990s.
After leaving Parliament, she gained fame as a contestant on reality television shows “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Celebrity Big Brother.” She later joined the Brexit Party, serving briefly as a member of the European Parliament before the UK’s exit from the European Union in 2020. Most recently, she was involved with the anti-immigration Reform UK, where she frequently appeared in the media as the party’s immigration and justice spokesperson.
The killing of Widdecombe has raised renewed concerns about the security of politicians, which had already been tightened in the past decade following the murders of two prominent MPs. Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was killed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, while Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.
