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

by Sam Tobin

LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) – Former British government minister Ann Widdecombe was killed when a man hit her in the head 21 times with a hammer while she was having lunch at her home earlier this month, prosecutors told a London court on Tuesday.

Widdecombe (‌78), a leading figure in Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party, was found dead at his home in rural southwest England on July 9 after being attacked the previous day.

The murder shocked British politics and sparked further concern for the safety of politicians; Two sitting British members of parliament have been killed since 2016.

Joshua Kerry, a white British national from Rotherham in northern England, 250 miles (402 km) from Widdecombe’s home, appeared in court on Tuesday charged with murder.

The 28-year-old bearded man, who appeared as a defendant in a gray tracksuit at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, was not asked to make a defence.

At a later hearing at the Old Bailey, Kerry was remanded in custody until his next hearing in October.

Police said they believed Widdecombe was targeted but the motive remains under investigation. Prosecutors said the investigation into possible terrorist crimes is ongoing.

THE INCIDENT WAS CAUGHT ON THE HOME CAMERA

Prosecutor Kashif Malik earlier said a camera at Widdecombe’s home recorded the attack.

Malik explained that Widdecombe was supposed to be interviewed live on television from his home on 8 July but did not turn up. The next day his personal assistant asked his gardener to check on Widdecombe, and the gardener found him on the kitchen floor.

Malik told the court that recovered footage showed Kerry entering Widdecombe’s home while he was having lunch and asking: “Don’t you think you have bank cards and ID?”

Kerry, who was wearing black gloves and holding a hammer to his side to hide from Widdecombe’s view, then hit him 21 times, Malik said.

He added that Kerry, who had been on the property for about two minutes, knocked Widdecombe out of his chair and then took his wallet and left.

Widdecombe was known for his social conservative views, first as a junior minister in Conservative Prime Minister John Major’s 1992-1997 government and later as Reform UK’s immigration and justice spokesman.

After leaving parliament in 2010, he appeared in a number of reality TV shows, including “Strictly Come Dancing”.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin and Michael Holden, editing by Sam Tabahriti, Gareth Jones and Andrei Khalip)