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A London court heard Tuesday that Ann Widdecombe, a former British lawmaker and government minister, was struck 21 times in the head with a hammer as she sat eating lunch at her home in southwest England. Joshua Kerry, 28, from Rotherham in northern England, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with her murder.
According to prosecutors who detailed the killing in court, Kerry drove approximately 265 miles from his home to carry out what they described as a “planned and targeted attack” executed with a “ferocity of violence.” Prosecutor Kashif Malik told the court that on July 8, Widdecombe, 78, was eating around noon when Kerry entered her isolated bungalow in the village of Haytor Vale on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. Malik said Kerry walked through the front door wearing black gloves and wielding a hammer, then repeatedly struck Widdecombe on the head while she was at her kitchen table. The entire assault lasted just two minutes, the court heard.
Before leaving the property, Kerry tipped Widdecombe from her chair and took a wallet from her handbag, prosecutors said. When Widdecombe failed to appear for a scheduled television interview on Channel 5 shortly after 1 p.m., producers contacted her personal assistant, who asked the family gardener to check on her. The gardener found Widdecombe lying face down on her kitchen floor the next day. A provisional cause of death was given as a “blunt force injury to the head.”
Kerry was arrested on July 11, two days after Widdecombe was discovered dead. He was initially held on suspicion of murder but was later arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism after new evidence emerged. Kerry has not been charged with a terrorism offense. He appeared in court wearing a gray tracksuit and spoke only to confirm his identity. He was denied bail and remanded in custody.
The killing has sparked renewed concerns about the security of politicians in Britain. Widdecombe is the third member of parliament to be murdered in recent years, following Labour MP Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed in 2016 during the Brexit campaign, and Conservative lawmaker David Amess, who was stabbed to death in 2021 by a man inspired by extremism.
British counterterrorism police took over the investigation from local Devon and Cornwall Police after new evidence was discovered. Laurence Taylor, head of National Counter Terrorism Policing, said the killing was “a targeted attack,” though he cautioned against speculation about the motive. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the suspect was not known to Prevent, the government’s counterterrorism program for those at risk of radicalization. Investigators are examining a potential political or ideological motivation for the attack, though authorities have not disclosed specific details about what investigators have discovered.
Widdecombe had a long career in British politics. She served as a Conservative MP from 1987 to 2010, representing Maidstone and the former Maidstone constituency. During the 1990s under Prime Minister John Major’s government, she served as Minister of State for Employment and later as Minister of State for Prisons. She also held the position of Shadow Home Secretary from 1999 to 2001. After leaving Parliament, Widdecombe became a television personality, appearing on popular reality shows including “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Celebrity Big Brother,” which brought her wider public recognition.
In her later political career, Widdecombe joined the Brexit Party in 2019 as a prominent advocate for Britain’s departure from the European Union, serving as a member of the European Parliament from 2019 to 2020. She subsequently joined Reform UK in 2023, where she served as the party’s immigration and justice spokesperson until her death.
A case management hearing has been scheduled for October 9 at the Old Bailey, with a provisional trial date set for June 8, 2027. Kerry’s employer was a lift company, and neighbors reported seeing little of him since his father’s death in December of the previous year.