Slain British Politician Was Hit 21 Times With a Hammer, Prosecutors Say

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The politician, Ann Widdecombe, was eating lunch at home when a man walked in and asked whether she had bank cards, security footage showed.

This screenshot is from this NYT article. | The British former Prime Minister Liz Truss leads a tribute to the slain politician Ann Widdecombe in London last week. Credit: Carl Court/Getty Images
Ann Widdecombe, the right-wing British politician whose killing this month sent shock waves through the country’s political establishment, was struck 21 times on the head with a hammer during the fatal lunchtime attack, prosecutors said in a London court on Tuesday.

The suspect, Joshua Kerry, 28, made a brief appearance at Westminster magistrates court, confirming his name and address in the city of Rotherham in the north of England. At a second hearing later Tuesday at London’s Central Criminal Court, he was ordered to be held until the next hearing on October 9.

Ms. Widdecombe was sitting at a table at her home in the village of Haytor in southwest England on July 8, eating lunch, when a man entered her home and asked her, “Don’t suppose you have bank cards and ID?,” according to images from a security camera recovered by police who investigated the crime scene, prosecutors said. They did not say whether or how she responded.

The man, wearing black gloves, then struck Ms. Widdecombe 21 times with the hammer before tipping her out of her chair onto the floor, taking her wallet and leaving, all within around two minutes, a prosecutor, Kashif Malik, said. He did not say anything about a potential motive. » | Stephen Castle | Reporting from London | Tuesday, July 21, 2026

R.I.P.

Ann Widdecombe Was Hit on Head Repeatedly with Hammer, Court Told

THE GUARDIAN: Joshua Kerry appears at Westminster magistrates court charged with murder of former MP earlier this month

A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of the former MP and Reform UK spokesperson Ann Widdecombe.

Joshua Kerry, 28, is accused of killing the 78-year-old former Conservative minister at her home in Haytor, Devon, earlier this month, by hitting her on the head with a hammer 21 times.

During a brief hearing at Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday afternoon, Kerry, who was dressed in a grey sweatshirt and tracksuit bottoms, spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address.

Widdecombe was found dead in her kitchen on the morning of 9 July. The prosecutor Khasif Malik told the court that a provisional cause of death was given by a pathologist as blunt force trauma to the head.

Malik said the alarm had been raised after she failed to attend a pre-arranged online interview for Channel 5’s Matt Allwright show the previous day.

Her body was found by her gardener and she was declared dead by emergency service shortly after, the court heard. » | Geraldine McKelvie and Jamie Grierson | Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Man, 28, charged with murder of former MP Ann Widdecombe: Joshua Kerry from Rotherham charged over killing of politician whose body was found at her Devon home »

Ann Widdecombe - Final Interview - Life Stories

Jun 24, 2025 | In This episode of Life Stories Ann talks about her career in politics, her opinion on former prime ministers, she also responds to allegations of racism and homophobia. Ann takes a look into her television career from Strictly to Celebrity Big Brother.

R.I.P.

Counter-terror Police Lead Investigation into Ann Widdecombe's Murder after "New Evidence" Found

Jul 13, 2026 | Counter-terror police are now leading the investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe as "new information and evidence have come to light", Counter Terrorism Policing South East said. 

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, added in a post on X: "Following new information and evidence, they are now leading on the investigation into the horrific murder of Ann Widdecombe.

"The police are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry to establish the motivation for this attack. I will be updating the House further this afternoon."


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Ann Widdecombe death: counter-terrorism police take over investigation: Officers say decision made after ‘new information and evidence has come to light’ »

Man Arrested On Suspicion of Ann Widdecombe’s Murder Is Released

THE GUARDIAN: Devon and Cornwall police say 26-year-old man no longer part of investigation after former MP found dead at home in Haytor

Screenshot taken from this Guardian article. | The body of Ann Widdecombe was found with serious injuries at her home in Devon. Photograph: Thomas Krych/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
A 26-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of the murder of the former MP Ann Widdecombe has been released from custody and is no longer part of the investigation, Devon and Cornwall police said early on Saturday.

In a statement, assistant chief constable Matt Longman said: “Our priority remains identifying those responsible and ensuring that all available evidence is thoroughly examined.

“Detectives continue to carry out numerous enquiries as part of the ongoing investigation and we remain committed to establishing the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”

Widdecombe’s body was found with “serious injuries” by the ambulance service at her home in Haytor, Devon, at 11.40am on Thursday, police said. » | PA Media | Saturday, July 11, 2026

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Ann Widdecombe: uncompromising politician who embraced TV fame: Former Tory minister, who later joined Reform UK and became an unlikely celebrity, was found dead on Thursday »

Ann Widdecombe: Man Arrested over Death of Former Tory MP

Jul 10, 2026 | The police investigation into Ann Widdecombe's death has moved incredibly fast.

Police tonight confirmed that a 26-year-old white British man is in custody, while detectives urged members of the public to come forward with any relevant information.

The death of the former Tory MP has been greeted with widespread shock among her political colleagues, who called it incredibly distressing and disturbing.


Related material here.

Ann Widdecombe’s Death Is ‘Appalling and Shocking’ | Jacob Rees-Mogg

Jul 10, 2026 | “To hear this is just unbelievable that somebody could possibly have attacked and killed her. I mean, it is deeply, deeply shocking.”

With the Devon & Cornwall police opening a murder investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe, Jacob Rees-Mogg has called her death "deeply, deeply shocking".


Related material here.

À LIRE AUSSI :

Royaume-Uni : une enquête ouverte après la découverte de la mort d’une ex-députée dont le corps présentait de « graves blessures » : Le chef adjoint de la police du Devon et de Cornouaillese, Matt Longman, a déclaré lors d’un point presse qu’un citoyen britannique de 26 ans avait été arrêté dans le cadre de cette affaire. »

Police Launch Murder Investigation into Widdecombe's Death

July 10, 2026 | Devon and Cornwall Police have launched a murder investigation after the death of Ann Widdecombe.

Police officers were called to an address at Haytor, in Dartmoor, at around 11.40am on Thursday.

The force said Widdecombe was found dead at the property and had sustained serious injuries.



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Murder investigation launched into Ann Widdecombe’s death »

Related video here.

Former Tory MP Ann Widdecombe Dies Aged 78

July 10, 2026 | Ann Widdecombe, the former MP and MEP who also featured on Strictly Come Dancing, has died aged 78.

Widdecombe was a Conservative MP for Maidstone from 1987 until 2010, and later joined the Brexit Party in 2019. After the party was renamed Reform UK, she served as its Immigration and Justice spokesperson from 2023 until earlier this year.

A statement from her management said: “It is with great sadness that today we announce the death of the Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe, DSG. “We send our deepest condolences to Ann’s family and friends. We ask that the family’s wish not to be contacted at this sad time is respected.”

Widdecombe was first elected to Parliament under Margaret Thatcher’s 1987 election victory, but rose the ranks of government under her successor, John Major. She was the prisons minister until the Tories lost to Tony Blair ’s New Labour landslide in 1997.

After failing to become Conservative leader in 2001, she stayed in the public eye with prominent TV appearances. They included a Louis Theroux special in 2002 and a memorable run on BBC ’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, when she partnered with Anton Du Beke to survive nine weeks of competition.

Ann Widdecombe | On Censorship and Freedom of Speech | Oxford Union

Jul 10, 2019

It is to be hoped that our Führer, Herr Starmer, is listening! – © Mark Alexander

"You Can't BEAR The Truth!" Lord Heseltine Blasts TalkTV Hosts Over Brexit

Feb 14, 2023 | Piers Morgan Uncensored hosted by Richard Tice and Isabel Oakeshott takes a dramatic turn as the pair are joined by former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Michael Heseltine to debate whether the government should accept that Brexit has failed. Remainer Lord Heseltine thinks you only need to look at the newspapers to accept "Brexit is dead" - but Isabel argues that the process of leaving the EU has only been held up because of people like him. Former Brexit MEP Ann Widdecombe and family lawyer Paula Rhone-Adrien also have their say after Heseltine ends his interview by giving Richard and Isabel a good telling-off...

The only person worth listening to in this video is the distinguished Lord Heseltine. By and large, the rest of them talked nonsense. Especially the self-gratifying liar, Richard Tice, the young lady in red sitting beside him, and Ann Widdecombe who always has far too much to say for herself. – © Mark Alexander

Ann Widdecombe: Don’t Have Cheese Sandwiches If You Can’t Afford Them

THE GUARDIAN: Ex-Brexit party MEP says there is no ‘given right’ to low food prices despite families struggling with cost of living

Ann Widdecombe told the BBC’s Politics Live programme that families should go without some foods if they could not afford ingredients. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA
Families should go without cheese sandwiches if they cannot afford the ingredients, Ann Widdecombe has said.

The former Brexit party MEP said there was no “given right” for low food prices, despite being told families “cannot afford to feed their children” and were having to make huge sacrifices as the cost of living crisis deepens.

Widdecombe, who joined the Reform UK party this year, was on BBC’s Politics Live programme when she was asked what she would say to consumers who could not afford to pay for basics such as the ingredients of a cheese sandwich.

“Well then you don’t have the cheese sandwich,” Widdecombe replied. “None of it’s new. We’ve been through this before. The problem is we’ve been decades now without inflation, we’ve come to regard it as some kind of given right.” » | Aletha Adu, Political correspondent | Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Disgusting! Such a cruel woman! And such an ‘I’m alright Jack’ attitude!

This woman is supposed to be a devout Roman Catholic. There is clearly no hint of Christianity in this attitude of hers. Is this woman so out of touch with reality that she cannot empathize with families struggling to put food on the table for their children?

Furthermore, and very importantly, why has the government failed to control inflation anyway? That inflation is running so high shows clearly that this is government mismanagement of the economy, the international economic circumstances notwithstanding. – © Mark Alexander