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A man has appeared in court charged with murdering former MP Ann Widdecombe by hitting her 21 times on the head with a hammer.
Joshua Kerry, 28, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday accused of killing the Reform UK spokesperson.
Kerry, who has been remanded into custody, was first arrested on suspicion of murder on 11 July, two days after the 78-year-old was found dead at her home in Devon.
He spoke only to confirm his name and address as he appeared in the dock dressed in a grey jumper and tracksuit bottoms.
Two days after he was arrested on suspicion of murder, Kerry was additionally arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. However, he has not been charged with this offence.
Widdecombe had been due to be interviewed on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright show just before 1pm on 11 July, but stopped replying to messages and calls after she sent a final message at 12.19pm. A gardener found her body at her home in Haytor the following day, the court was told.
The court heard that a Ring doorbell captured Kerry arriving at the home after driving from Rotherham in a red Vauxhall Corsa.
Another camera in the hallway facing into the kitchen that was found by detectives showed Widdecombe eating her lunch, the court was told.
Kerry asked Widdecombe: “Don’t suppose you have bank cards and ID,” prosecutor Kashif Malik said.
He then hit her on the top of the head with the hammer 21 times before tipping her out of the chair where she fell on to the floor, Malik added. It is alleged that Kerry reached into Widdecombe’s handbag and took her wallet. “He was there for only two minutes,” Malik said.
A provisional cause of death was given as a “blunt force injury to the head”, the court heard.
In a later hearing at the Old Bailey, prosecutor Alistair Richardson said Kerry allegedly hit Widdecombe with a hammer in a “planned and targeted” attack carried out with a “ferocity of violence” in her kitchen.
Kerry was remanded in custody after appearing at the Old Bailey, where he will appear again on 9 October for a case management hearing before a further plea and trial preparation hearing on November 20.
A provisional trial date was listed for 8 June 2027.
The cause of Widdecombe’s death is yet to be established, the opening of an inquest into her death heard on Tuesday.
Philip Spinney, Senior Coroner at Exeter Coroners Court for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, said the inquest would be adjourned until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.
Widdecombe was first elected as a Conservative MP in Kent in 1987, and went on to become an MEP for the Brexit Party and then a spokesperson for Reform UK.
She also appeared as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for a review of MPs’ safety after Widdecombe’s death.
