Murdered ex-UK minister Widdecombe was struck on head with hammer 21 times

Former government minister Ann Widdecombe was killed after being struck 21 times on the head with a hammer, a London court heard on Tuesday. The 78-year-old was found dead at her home in rural southwest England on 9 July after being attacked the day before.

Joshua Kerry, 28, a white British national from Rotherham in northern England, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to face a charge of murder. The bearded 28-year-old, who appeared in the dock wearing a grey tracksuit, did not enter a plea. Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring remanded the suspect in custody, telling the defendant, You are charged with an offence of murder which can only be tried in the crown court. Kerry is scheduled to appear at the Old Bailey on October 9.

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According to prosecutor Kashif Malik, the attack was captured on a security camera inside the residence. Footage shows Kerry entering the property through the front door while Widdecombe was eating lunch and asking the victim, Don't suppose you have bank cards and ID?. The prosecution stated that Kerry was wearing black gloves and held a hammer to his side to keep it hidden from view. He then struck the victim 21 times, tipped her out of her chair onto the floor, and exited the premises with her wallet. The entire incident lasted approximately two minutes.

Widdecombe’s death was discovered after she failed to participate in a scheduled live television interview on 8 July. When she did not appear, producers contacted her personal assistant, who then requested that a gardener check the property. The gardener found Widdecombe lying face down on her kitchen floor the following day. Official court documents listed her cause of death as a blunt force injury to the head.

Police arrested Kerry on 11 July in South Yorkshire, more than 250 miles from the crime scene. Investigators searched Kerry’s property in South Yorkshire, where they found a hammer and black gloves containing the victim’s DNA inside outdoor rubbish bins. Authorities have stated they believe Widdecombe was targeted, though the specific motive remains under investigation. Laurence Taylor, the head of United Kingdom Counter Terrorism Policing, indicated that detectives are actively inquiring into whether there were political or terror-related links to the killing.

Widdecombe was a prominent political figure, first elected as a Member of Parliament in 1987. She served as a prisons minister in the Conservative government of Prime Minister John Major between 1992 and 1997. After leaving the House of Commons in 2010, she remained active in public life, serving as an MEP for the Brexit Party and later joining the populist Reform UK party as an immigration and justice spokesperson. Known for her socially conservative stances, she opposed abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ rights. She also gained significant public recognition as a media personality, participating in programs such as Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.

The nature of the attack has drawn comparisons to the killings of other British lawmakers over the last decade. These include the 2016 murder of Labour MP Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed, and the 2021 stabbing of Conservative MP David Amess by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.