LONDON (AP) — A man charged with plotting a terror attack on Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and murdering former lawmaker Ann Widdecombe was motivated by “extreme left-wing” views, a prosecutor said Friday.
Prosecuting attorney Jonathan Polnay said Joshua Kerry’s attack on Widdecombe is “inextricably linked” to his earlier attempt to break into the home of Farage, Britain’s best-known anti-immigration politician. The lawyer said both crimes have a “terrorist
connection.”
During a pretrial hearing at London’s Central Criminal Court, Polnay said Kerry conducted research into the home and office addresses of a number of politicians, including Farage and Widdecombe, over a two-year period. Polnay said Kerry had an “extreme left-wing and/or anti-establishment mindset” and was “particularly hostile” toward Reform UK.
Kerry, 28, has not been asked to enter a plea and spoke only to confirm his identity when he attended the hearing remotely from Belmarsh high-security prison. Defense lawyer Nicholas Lumley said Kerry is likely to contest all the charges against him.
Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb set a trial date of June 8 next year.
Kerry was arrested in July and charged with murdering 78-year-old Widdecombe, who was found dead at her rural house in southwest England on July 8. Prosecutors say Kerry drove 265 miles (425 kilometers) from his home in northern England and hit her 21 times with a hammer as she ate lunch in her kitchen.
Widdecombe joined Reform UK after a long career as a Conservative member of Parliament and government minister, and was known for her blunt-spoken, socially conservative views opposing abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.
After her death, counterterrorism police reopened a probe into an alleged firebomb and break-in attempt at Farage’s south London home in April 2025. Prosecutors say the door was damaged by a knife, and Kerry’s DNA was found on a bottle of lighter fluid left on the porch.
Last week prosecutors charged Kerry with preparing terrorist acts, including against Farage, between May 2024 and the day Widdecombe was killed.
Widdecombe’s slaying renewed concerns over security for politicians, which has been tightened in the past decade after two lawmakers were murdered.
Labour legislator Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.
