SerpApi.Org
July 21 (UPI) -- A 28-year-old British man was due in court in London on Tuesday morning accused of murdering former Conservative government minister Ann Widdecombe in her home in Devon.
Joshua Kerry of Rotherham in South Yorkshire will appear before Westminster Magistrates after being charged Monday with the murder of Widdecombe, 78, on July 8, following a 12-day investigation, Counter Terrorism Policing said in a news release.
CTP said what it described as a "particularly intensive and complex" investigation was continuing, including into whether there was a political motive, but that it was not looking for any other suspects in the case.
"I know there has been significant interest in this case -- and rightly so. I want to make it very clear that our investigation into this individual, determining his motivations and any wider activity he may have been involved in is continuing," said Head of National Counter Terrorism Policing, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor.
"Given Ann Widdecombe's profile and the targeted nature of the attack, determining the motivation, including any possible political motivation, remains an active avenue of investigation for our detectives.
"This has been, and remains, a particularly intensive and complex investigation. Over the last week, our teams have gathered a huge amount of information, leading to over 800 lines of enquiry. Each of those needs assessing, carefully and thoroughly, and I ask that we are given the time to do that," said Taylor.
"I know many have been understandably concerned about their own safety after this horrendous attack, particularly after hearing about the nature of the attack she endured, in her own home."
Police were working closely with the Speaker of the House of Commons and other relevant authorities to ensure elected officials were fully briefed on existing safety measures in place for their protection, Taylor added in a nod to renewed debate around the personal security of lawmakers amid a rise in violence and threats against them.
The issue prompted Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage to trigger a byelection in his parliamentary constituency after he was placed under investigation for not notifying parliament about a $6.7 million gift he said was a private donation to pay for his personal protection.
Parliament authorities in charge of the security of members have ruled he does not qualify for any taxpayer-funded protection.
Two serving lawmakers have been killed as they went about their work in their parliamentary districts in the past 10 years.
Labour MP Jo Cox was stabbed and shot to death by a Neo-Nazi in 2016 and David Amess, a veteran Conservative MP, died in a knife attack carried out at his constituency office by an ISIS-inspired Islamic extremist in 2021.
In 2017, terrorist Khalid Masood killed three people and injured 40 when he ploughed an SUV into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before attempting to ram parliament and fatally stabbing an unarmed police officer guarding the Palace of Westminster.
Masood was shot dead by the police bodyguard of a senior government minister whose car pulled up in the middle of the attack.
All three killers were born in Britain.
Large numbers of the country's 650 MPs report receiving threats of violence against themselves and their families on a daily basis.
In June, two men, a Ukrainian and a Romanian, were sentenced to prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit arson attacks on a car and two properties linked to outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, one of which was occupied at the time by his sister-in-law and her family.
In September, the offices of Labour MP Sharon Hogson were gutted in an arson attack. Graffitti left behind said: "328 days' blood on your hands," an apparent reference to Israel's war in Gaza.
Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson told the House of Commons it wasn't the first time Hodgson had been targeted.
