Prosecutors have told Westminster Magistrates' Court that former Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe was struck 21 times on the head with a hammer during an attack at her home in Haytor, Devon, which was captured on security camera footage. Joshua Kerry, 28, from Rotherham, has been charged with her murder and appeared at both Westminster Magistrates' Court and the Old Bailey, where he was remanded in custody; police say they are still investigating whether there was any terrorism connection or political motivation behind the killing.

Prosecutors said Kerry arrived at Widdecombe's house on 8 July in a red Vauxhall Corsa, entered through the front door wearing black gloves, and spent two minutes inside before attacking her in the kitchen, tipping her from her chair and taking her wallet. Widdecombe was found the following day by her gardener after she missed a scheduled interview with a Channel 5 programme; a pathologist has given a provisional cause of death as blunt force head injury, though the precise medical cause has yet to be confirmed. Kerry did not enter a plea and is due to appear at the Old Bailey again on 9 October, with a provisional trial date set for 8 June 2027. Widdecombe, who served as Maidstone's MP for 23 years and later became a Reform UK spokeswoman, was 78.