I must admit that when the news first broke of Ann Widdecombe's death at her remote home on Dartmoor, I felt a familiar quiet exasperation. Here was a public figure who had spent decades defending positions that many in the commentariat found unfashionable at best, inconvenient at worst, and now she had been taken in what police describe as a targeted attack. Yesterday's charging of Joshua Kerry marks a significant step, yet it also throws into sharp relief the risks that come with speaking plainly in an age that prefers conformity.
Kerry, 28, from Rotherham in South Yorkshire, has been charged with Widdecombe's murder. The 78-year-old former Conservative minister and Reform UK spokeswoman was discovered at her Haytor home on 9 July after she failed to appear for a scheduled television appearance. Her injuries were consistent with a deliberate assault. Kerry was first arrested on suspicion of murder on 11 July and re-arrested two days later on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Counter Terrorism Policing is leading the investigation, supported by Devon and Cornwall Police. They are not seeking any other suspects. Laurence Taylor, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said in an official statement:
We have charged Joshua Kerry with her murder. He is still in custody. It remains the case we are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident. I want to make it very clear that our investigation into this individual determining his motivations and any wider activity he might have been involved in, is continuing. 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 with 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 inquiry.
The police have assembled more than 800 lines of inquiry from a vast amount of gathered information. Investigators continue to examine Kerry's motives, including any possible political or terrorist connection. Frank Ferguson, Chief Crown Prosecutor of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, issued a statement on 20 July:
We have decided to prosecute Joshua Kerry for murder following a police investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe in Haytor, Dartmoor. Police enquiries into the defendant’s motives are ongoing, including a potential political or terrorist connection. Our prosecutors have worked closely with the police to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring this case to court, and we will continue working with them as their investigation progresses. We remind all concerned that proceedings against the defendant are active and he has the right to a fair trial. It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.
The Crown Prosecution Service authorised the murder charge after reviewing the evidence. What strikes me, looking back on Widdecombe's long career, is how consistently she embodied a certain stubborn integrity. From her time as a Conservative MP and minister to her later role speaking for Reform UK, she refused to soften edges or chase approval. That refusal clearly carried risks. The escalation to counter-terrorism officers suggests the authorities take seriously the possibility that this was not random violence but something more calculated.
There is an irony here that would not have been lost on Widdecombe herself. A woman who spent her public life arguing for stronger borders, clearer rules and unapologetic defence of traditional institutions now finds her death investigated by specialist terrorism police examining ideological drivers. The machinery of the state has responded with commendable seriousness. Yet one cannot help noticing how often the defenders of order and national distinctiveness become targets precisely because they challenge comfortable orthodoxies.
