Tomorrow marks exactly one month since Ann Widdecombe was found dead at her home in Devon, and the counter terrorism officers leading the murder investigation have signalled a potentially important development. The inquiry into the death of the former politician remains active, and detectives say a fresh strand has now emerged in the case.
As part of that murder investigation, officers are reopening an inquiry into a separate incident that took place in April 2025. That earlier case involved an attempted burglary at an address in Greater London. No arrests were made at the time, and the case had been closed pending any new lines of inquiry that might emerge later.
Vicky Evans, Senior National Coordinator at Counter Terrorism Policing, said investigators had identified a new line of inquiry that may have been relevant to the case. She urged members of the public not to speculate about the possible connections while officers carry out that work and build a fuller picture of what happened.
A man has already been charged in connection with the death. Joshua Kerry, a 28-year-old from Rotherham in South Yorkshire, has been charged with the murder of Ann Widdecombe. That charge was brought as the investigation advanced, and it is against this backdrop that officers are now revisiting the earlier London incident.
Prosecutors say Kerry went to Widdecombe's house on 8 July and was inside the property for around two minutes. According to the case set out by prosecutors, she was struck on the head with a hammer 21 times. Her body was discovered by her gardener the following day, and the case has since moved through the courts.
Ann Widdecombe was a figure with a political career spanning decades. She served as a Conservative minister, later sat as a Brexit Party MEP and was a former UK spokeswoman. Her death has drawn tributes from across the House, reflecting a long public life that stretched across several chapters of British politics.
The overall investigation remains ongoing. Counter terrorism officers are now treating the reopened April 2025 incident as a potential new line of inquiry, while continuing to ask the public not to speculate about how the different threads of the case may ultimately fit together as their work continues.