Murder of British Politician Widdecombe: 28-Year-Old Man Charged, Police Suspect Terrorism

British police have charged a 28-year-old man named Kerry with murder in connection with the death of former Member of Parliament Ann Widdecombe. According to investigators, the attack took place on 8 July — the day the politician failed to appear for a scheduled television interview. Her body was later found bearing severe injuries that were determined to be the cause of death.

The suspect was arrested on 11 July in South Yorkshire, in the north of England — more than 320 kilometres from where Widdecombe's body was discovered. He was initially charged with murder alone, but new evidence emerged while he was in custody, and he has now also been charged with preparing, organising or carrying out acts of terrorism. On Tuesday, Kerry is due to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, Reuters reports.

Ann Widdecombe, 78, was formerly a Member of the British Parliament and the European Parliament, and in the 1990s served as a Minister of State in the government of Conservative Prime Minister John Major. She spent many years as a member of the Conservative Party but defected to the anti-EU Brexit Party in 2019, now known as the right-wing populist party Reform UK.

The politician was known for her outspokenness and socially conservative views: she opposed abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.

Over the past decade, two Members of Parliament have now been killed in the UK. In 2016, during the Brexit referendum campaign, a neo-Nazi fatally stabbed and shot Labour MP Jo Cox. In 2021, Conservative MP David Amess was stabbed to death by a man inspired by the ideology of the Islamic State group.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz