A 28-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Ann Widdecombe, the former Maidstone MP and government minister who was found dead at her Dartmoor home on 9 July.

Joshua Kerry, of Byrley Road, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was charged with one count of murder on Monday 20 July, the Crown Prosecution Service announced. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 21 July, where he spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth, and was remanded in custody to appear at the Central Criminal Court — the Old Bailey — later this year.

Frank Ferguson, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “We have decided to prosecute Joshua Kerry for murder following a police investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe in Haytor, Dartmoor.”

What the court heard

Prosecutors alleged in submissions to the court that Ms Widdecombe, 78, was struck 21 times on the head with a hammer while eating lunch at her bungalow near Haytor on Wednesday 8 July, in an attack lasting around two minutes. The court heard that a wallet was taken before the alleged attacker fled, and that video footage was said to show a man leaving the driveway with a long object in his shorts pocket.

Ms Widdecombe was found dead the following day, 9 July, almost 24 hours after the alleged attack, after she missed a scheduled television appearance. The allegations made in court have not been tested and Mr Kerry has not yet entered a plea.

Counter-terrorism officers lead the investigation

The investigation, initially opened by Devon and Cornwall Police, is now led by Counter Terrorism Policing, and the decision to charge was authorised by the CPS division that handles terrorism-related casework. Mr Kerry has not been charged with any terrorism offence.

In its charging announcement the CPS said police enquiries into the alleged motivation remain ongoing, including whether there was any political or terrorist connection. Laurence Taylor, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said that “determining the motivation, including any possible political motivation, remains an active avenue of investigation.”

Kent’s four decades with Ann Widdecombe

Ann Widdecombe represented Maidstone, and later Maidstone and The Weald, in the House of Commons from 1987 to 2010, serving as a Home Office minister with responsibility for prisons. She later sat as a Brexit Party MEP and joined Reform UK. A book of condolence remains open in Maidstone.

Kent Local News has followed the case since her death: our tribute to her life and career, the opening of the murder investigation, and the arrest in South Yorkshire.

Legal position

Criminal proceedings against Mr Kerry are now active under the Contempt of Court Act 1981. He is presumed innocent unless and until a jury decides otherwise, and the allegations summarised above are the prosecution’s case only. The CPS has asked that there be “no reporting, commentary or sharing of information which could in any way prejudice these proceedings”. For that reason Kent Local News will not speculate about the motive for the attack, which the police and CPS say has not been established, while the case is before the court.

Sources