Ann Widdecombe never softened a position in 40 years of British public life. She opposed abortion. She opposed euthanasia. She opposed "LGBT imperialism" and climate alarmism, fought Brexit through to the finish, and refused to go quiet on immigration even past the age most politicians retreat into comfortable silence. She was 78 years old when she was beaten to death in her own kitchen.
Her body was found on the morning of July 9. She had missed a scheduled appearance on a Channel 5 Zoom program, and when no one could reach her, a wellness check turned into a murder investigation. The injuries the medical examiner found could not be explained by a fall.
CCTV footage from the previous morning showed Joshua Kerry, 28, leaving his home in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Neighbors saw him loading something into his car — described as "some kind of wooden pole." He then drove approximately four hours south, roughly 270 miles, to the secluded Devon village of Haytor on Dartmoor, where Widdecombe lived in quiet retirement. The attack is believed to have occurred the day before her body was found.
When police first caught up with Kerry, the institutional response was a study in denial. Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman told the public there was "no information to believe that that is a politically motivated crime" and urged against speculation. Kerry was arrested on suspicion of murder — then released the following morning, with police announcing he was "no longer part of the investigation."
Hours later, he was rearrested. This time by Counter Terrorism Policing.
Laurence Taylor, head of National Counter Terrorism Policing, confirmed investigators had found "new information and evidence" pointing to a "targeted attack." Kerry's Red Vauxhall Corsa was seized. His electronic devices were seized. When officers searched his Rotherham home, they found newspaper clippings about conservative leader Nigel Farage, Reform UK (the conservative party), and immigration policy. Farage, speaking on "good authority," described Kerry as a "hard-left activist" — "an intolerant individual obsessed with Soviet communism."
A Reform UK source told the Telegraph: "It is clear to everybody that we are being gaslit by the police."
On July 20, the Crown Prosecution Service announced charges. Chief Crown Prosecutor Frank Ferguson of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division confirmed Kerry faces prosecution for murder and for "commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism." Ferguson said that "police enquiries into the defendant's motives are ongoing, including a potential political or terrorist connection." Kerry appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court.
Farage called Widdecombe "an extraordinary woman" — "the best-known and most outstanding female politician in Britain since Margaret Thatcher." He said she was "kind to everybody" and "gave her life to public service." Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood acknowledged that "Ann's dedication to public service was decades long, and she was a true servant."
Zia Yusuf, Reform UK's home affairs spokesman, offered a less diplomatic accounting: "I can tell you about the climate in which she was killed — a relentless narrative from politicians and the media that Reform UK is a threat."
This is not the first time. Conservative MP David Amess was stabbed to death in 2021 by Ali Harbi Ali, a man radicalized against British foreign policy. Amess, like Widdecombe, was a Catholic and a committed pro-life advocate. The pattern is not subtle.
Widdecombe was elected to Parliament in 1987 and served until 2010, compiling what Right To Life UK called "a strong and consistent pro-life voting record." She was a patron of the organization, and trustee Chris Whitehouse remembered her as "a personal and family friend, a political mentor and remarkable heroine" for over 40 years. She converted to Catholicism in 1992, received into the Church by Cardinal Basil Hume at Westminster Cathedral. She was one of just five MPs to vote against the Climate Change Act of 2008. After Parliament, she joined the Brexit Party and was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for South West England in 2019. By 2023, she had joined Reform UK as its immigration spokeswoman.
She never married. She wrote four novels. She danced on "Strictly Come Dancing" with Anton Du Beke, who called her death "devastating." She was named a papal dame in 2013. She chose Buckfast Abbey's quiet countryside for her retirement.
A man with hard-left politics and a wooden pole drove four hours to end all of that. The establishment's first instinct was to release him and call it a burglary. Their second instinct, under pressure, was to hand it to Counter Terrorism.
At least one instinct was right.