UK man kept in custody in Ann Widdecombe murder case

A British man accused of murdering veteran right-wing former MP Ann Widdecombe was kept in custody on Tuesday after his first court hearings.

Joshua Kerry, 28, of Rotherham in northern England, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court. During the short hearing, he spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address.

A short time later, Kerry appeared at the Old Bailey, the crown court that hears the most serious cases. A provisional trial date was set for June 8 next year.

Police arrested Kerry on July 11 on suspicion of murder, two days after the 78-year-old Widdecombe was found dead at her bungalow in Devon, in southwestern England. Widdecombe was a spokesperson for the hard-right Reform UK party and a former Conservative minister.

Kerry was also arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, but he has not been charged with that offence. A suspected motive has not been disclosed. Laurence Taylor, head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said on Monday that detectives were still investigating a possible political or terrorist motivation.

Prosecutor Kashif Malik told chief magistrate Paul Goldspring that Kerry allegedly used a hammer to hit Widdecombe 21 times on the top of her head. Malik said Widdecombe had been eating lunch when Kerry allegedly entered through her front door and attacked her after driving from his home about 300 miles, or 500 kilometres, away.

The court heard that Kerry is accused of then taking a wallet from Widdecombe's handbag and driving away after spending about two minutes inside the property.

Widdecombe's gardener found her body lying face down on her kitchen floor. Malik said a provisional cause of death was blunt force injury to the head.

Kerry is due to appear at the Old Bailey again on October 9 for a case management hearing. A further plea and trial preparation hearing is scheduled for November 20.

The killing has drawn strong reactions from politicians, including Reform MPs who have called for better security for lawmakers. Widdecombe is the third UK politician killed in an attack this decade. Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in 2016 by a neo-Nazi sympathiser, and Conservative lawmaker David Amess was killed in 2021 by an Islamic State group follower.