Ann Widdecombe repeatedly hit with hammer, prosecutors say

FILE: Ann Widdecombe sits on stage during an event to launch the Brexit Party general election campaign in London on November 1, 2019. Photo by BEN STANSALL /AFP via Getty Images

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A British man appeared in court for the first time accused of murdering ex-Conservative Party minister Ann Widdecombe by hitting her 21 times over the head with a hammer.

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Joshua Kerry, 28-years-old from Rotherham in Yorkshire, was arrested and charged with the murder of Widdecombe after she was found dead in her south west England home.

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Prosecutors said during a Westminster Magistrates’ Court hearing that Kerry allegedly drove to Widdecombe’s Devon home on July 8 and entered through the front door holding a hammer. He then allegedly attacked Widdecombe with the hammer before tipping her off a chair, taking her wallet and leaving the property.

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She was found by the family gardener a day later after concerns were raised about her whereabouts, the prosecutors said.

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Kerry was held in custody pending another hearing at London’s Central Criminal Court later on Tuesday. Kerry spoke only to confirm his identity in court and has not entered a plea to the charges.

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Kerry was additionally arrested on suspicion of offenses under terrorism law and the investigation into his motives, including a terrorist or political connection, remain ongoing, lawyers said in court.

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FILE: Reform UK’s Ann Widdecombe delivers a speech on the opening day of the Reform UK 2024 annual Party Conference in Birmingham on September 20, 2024. Photo by OLI SCARFF /AFP via Getty Images

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Widdecombe was first elected as a Conservative MP in 1987, was a prisons minister in the 1990s and later became an Member of European Parliament for the Brexit Party. At the time of her death she was a spokeswoman on immigration and justice for the populist far right Reform UK.

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Known for her blunt-speaking and socially conservative views, she was in favor of bringing back the death penalty and opposed moves to give gay people more rights.

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