Did Politics Cost Ann Widdecombe Her Life?

The former government minister Ann Widdecombe was sitting in the kitchen of her Devon cottage, eating lunch, when the man accused of murdering her entered through the front door.

Within two minutes, prosecutors confirmed, she had been struck 21 times on the head with a hammer.

Joshua Kerry, 28, appeared in court in London on Tuesday charged with her murder. Wearing a police-issued tracksuit, he spoke only to confirm his name, age and address. He otherwise sat impassively as the prosecution outlined an attack carried out, the Old Bailey was told, with a ferocity of violence.

Kerry is alleged to have traveled 265 miles to Widdecombe’s home in the Devon village of Haytor Vale. Police say the targeted killing was captured by two security cameras: one at the door and another inside the Widdecombe’s house.

Footage is said to show a car arriving at the cottage and a man entering through the front door. Prosecutors allege that Kerry, wearing black gloves, went into the kitchen as Widdecombe was eating her lunch and struck her repeatedly with a hammer.

Her body was then tipped onto the floor. Kerry is accused of taking her wallet from her handbag before leaving the house.

The entire attack, prosecutors said, lasted about two minutes.

Widdecombe’s body was discovered by her gardener 24 hours later. The allegations created a palpable sense of shock in court, where those listening could only imagine the scene he encountered: the former minister lying dead on the floor of her own kitchen.

A pathologist has provisionally concluded that blunt-force trauma to the head was the cause of death.

A separate inquest into her death also opened on Tuesday. The coroner described Widdecombe as “much-loved” and “greatly missed.”

It took 13 days from the discovery of her body for a suspect to be brought before the courts.

On the day she was killed, Widdecombe had been due to make one of her regular appearances on a television talk show. Instead, cameras installed to protect her home allegedly recorded her final moments.

The evidence described by prosecutors gives the case an unusually intimate horror. This was not an attack in a public place or at a political event. Widdecombe was in her own kitchen, sitting down to lunch, when the violence began.

Yet the most important question remains unanswered.

Counterterrorism police are leading the investigation and have searched Kerry’s home in Rotherham. Detectives are still examining his alleged movements and trying to establish a motive, including whether the killing had a political connection or a terrorist motivation.

That work is expected to take months.

The timetable set by the judge reflects the scale of the continuing investigation. Kerry was remanded in custody, and the case is not expected to return for substantial pretrial proceedings until the autumn. His trial is scheduled to begin in June next year.

Politics depends upon disagreement. It allows arguments to be made forcefully and public figures to be challenged, criticized and rejected.

But it also carries a cost.

Security officials advised at-risk politicians to establish a protected area in their homes three months before Ann Widdecombe was killed.

The NPSA said an ordinary bedroom, bathroom or storeroom could be adapted to provide temporary shelter during an attack. Nigel Farage said he receives more than 300 threats a month.