Ann Widdecombe was struck 21 times with hammer during 2-minute attack, court hears
The former British minister and prominent Catholic was killed while eating lunch at home, as investigators continue examining whether the targeted attack had a political or terrorist motive.
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Former British government minister Ann Widdecombe was struck 21 times on the head with a hammer while eating lunch at her home, a prosecutor revealed in court July 21.
Joshua Kerry, 28, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London charged with murdering the 78-year-old Catholic politician at her home in Haytor, Devon, on July 8.
Prosecutor Kashif Malik told the court that a camera inside Widdecombe’s home recorded the attack. The footage allegedly showed Kerry enter through the front door while wearing black gloves and carrying a hammer concealed at his side.
“Don’t suppose you have bank cards and ID?” Kerry reportedly asked Widdecombe before striking her with the hammer.
Malik said Kerry struck Widdecombe 21 times, tipped her from her chair onto the kitchen floor, took her wallet, and left the house. He was allegedly inside the property for approximately two minutes.
Widdecombe was scheduled to appear remotely for a live Channel 5 interview that afternoon but failed to join the program, according to a Reuters report. Her personal assistant subsequently asked her gardener to check on her, and Widdecombe was found face-down on her kitchen floor the following day.
A postmortem listed blunt-force injury to the head as the provisional cause of death.
Prosecutors also said investigators recovered a hammer and black gloves bearing Widdecombe’s DNA from bins outside Kerry’s home in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, more than 250 miles from the scene.
Kerry spoke only to confirm his name, birthdate, and address during the brief July 21 hearing. He did not enter a plea and was later remanded in custody during an appearance at the Central Criminal Court, commonly known as the Old Bailey.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorized the murder charge July 20 following an investigation overseen by Counter Terrorism Policing. Kerry has been charged with one count of murder but has not been charged with a terrorism offense.
Authorities initially arrested Kerry on suspicion of murder before rearresting him under terrorism legislation. The CPS said inquiries into his motive remain underway, “including a potential political or terrorist connection.”
Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, has described Widdecombe’s death as a “targeted” attack. Police have not announced a suspected motive or publicly identified any prior connection between Widdecombe and Kerry.
As Zeale News previously reported, Widdecombe’s death prompted tributes from across British politics to a public figure remembered for her outspoken defense of Catholic moral teaching, her decades of public service, and her personal warmth.
Widdecombe served in the House of Commons from 1987 until 2010 and held several positions in Conservative Prime Minister John Major’s government, including prisons minister. She later represented the Brexit Party in the European Parliament and most recently served as Reform UK’s immigration and justice spokesperson.
She converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism in 1993 and was received into the Church by Cardinal Basil Hume at Westminster Cathedral. Widdecombe was a longtime opponent of abortion and same-sex marriage and frequently defended Christian teaching in British public life.
Pope Benedict XVI named her a Dame of the Order of St. Gregory the Great in 2013 for her public and political service. Aid to the Church in Need UK also remembered Widdecombe as a “fearless champion for persecuted Christians” who had worked for years to draw public attention to their suffering.
Widdecombe’s killing has renewed concerns about the safety of British political figures following the murders of Labour lawmaker Jo Cox in 2016 and Catholic Conservative lawmaker David Amess in 2021.
Kerry is scheduled to return to the Old Bailey for a case-management hearing Oct. 9, followed by a plea and trial-preparation hearing Nov. 20. His trial is provisionally scheduled to begin June 8, 2027.
