Man charged with Ann Widdecombe murder accused of plotting Farage attack

A 28-year-old man already charged with murdering former Conservative minister and Reform UK spokeswoman Ann Widdecombe has also been charged with preparing a terrorist attack targeting the party's leader, Nigel Farage, Britain's counter-terrorism police said on Friday. Joshua Kerry is accused of conduct connected to the preparation of an act of terrorism between 31 May 2024 and 8 July 2026, the force said, and is due to appear in court on Wednesday.

Kerry was arrested and charged in July over the killing of Widdecombe, 78, who was found dead at her home in Haytor, in Devon, on 9 July, French news agency AFP reported. Widdecombe was a Conservative MP for more than two decades before joining Reform UK, for which she served as a spokeswoman on immigration, and had been elected to the European Parliament in 2019. The case was initially investigated by local police, who ruled out a political motive, before it was handed to the counter-terrorism command days later, Italian outlet Il Post reported; after arresting Kerry, counter-terrorism officers said they were assessing whether the killing was linked to political extremism.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she had expressed her "sincere sympathy" to Farage and his family, and wrote on social media that an attack on a political figure is an attack on everyone. She said the case raised serious questions about the security of people in public life, French broadcaster Franceinfo reported.

Farage, who was re-elected to Parliament in August, leads Reform UK, a right-wing party that has built much of its support on restrictive immigration policies, Il Post reported. Reform UK has said its figures were not given sufficient protection by the authorities following Widdecombe's killing.