Accused of murdering UK politician Ann Widdecombe | Crime Stories

The police said that a possible political motive is being investigated in the murder of the former minister.

Prosecutors in the United Kingdom have charged a 28-year-old man with the murder of Ann Widdecombe, a former government minister and member of the Reform UK party.

Joshua Kerry was charged on Monday and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Tuesday, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Widdecombe, 78, was found dead at his home near Dartmoor National Park in southwest England on July 9, just a day after missing a televised interview. Police said he was shot deliberately but did not say how he died, only “fatal injuries”.

Kerry, who is from Rotherham in the north of England, was arrested on July 11. He was initially arrested on suspicion of murder until evidence emerged while he was in custody that led to his re-arrest on “terrorist” charges.

Director of National Counterterrorism Policing Laurence Taylor said the exact motive was still unknown.

“Given (Widdecombe’s) history and the nature of his attacks, determining the motive, including the possible political implications, is still an ongoing investigation,” Taylor said.

Widdecombe was a Conservative member of parliament from 1987 to 2010 and is known for his right-wing politics.

He later joined the Brexit Party, won a seat in the European Parliament, and moved to Nigel Farage’s Reform Party after the UK left the European Union.

The incident adds to the growing concern political violence in the UK. In the last ten years there have been the assassinations of two parliamentarians. Work Joe Coxhe was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a right-wing nationalist, also a Conservative David Ameshe was killed in 2021 by a person inspired by ISIL (ISIS).