Ann Widdecombe, 78, ‘battered 21 times over head by man with hammer during attack at her home’

ANN Widdecombe was battered 21 times to death with a hammer by a man at her home, a court heard today. The ex-Tory minister, 78, was discovered with serious injuries at her bungalow in Dartmoor, Devon, on July 9. Ann was found dead at home in Devon Credit: AFP Joshua Kerry has now been charged with murder Credit: The Sun Joshua Kerry, 28, was arrested 300 miles away in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, two days later. He has now appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with murder. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Police are still probing whether there was a political or terrorist motive. The court heard today Ann had been eating her lunch when a man arrived at her property in a red Vauxhall Corsa. She was then hit 21 times with a hammer over the head before being tipped from her chair, it was said. The court was told her wallet was removed from her handbag and the suspect left just two minutes later. Ann had carried out two media interviews that morning and was due to appear in an online chat with C5’s Matt Allwright at 12.50pm that day, it was said. JPs were told Ann was discovered on July 9 lying face down on the kitchen floor with a serious head injury. Most read in The Sun A provisional cause of death was given as a “blunt force injury to the head”, the court heard. Police are probing whether there was a terrorist motive Credit: PA Ann suffered serious injuries in the horror Credit: NB. PRESS LTD An inquest opening heard today how “concerns were raised” on July 9 after Ann’s team failed to get hold of her. An employee then went to her bungalow where they found Ann “unresponsive and with visible injuries”. A post mortem was carried out but a cause of death is yet to be established. Philip Spinney, senior coroner for Devon, adjourned the inquest until a later date. Officers confirmed last night they are investigating “any wider activity” that Kerry may have been involved in and say the motivation behind the horror remains an “active avenue”. He had also been arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the national head of counterterrorism, confirmed police are not looking for anybody else in connection with Ann’s death. He said: “I want to make it very clear that our investigation into this individual, determining his motivations and any wider activity he may have been involved in, is continuing. “Given Ann Widdecombe’s profile and the targeted nature of the attack, determining the motivation, including any possible political motivation, remains an active avenue of investigation for our detectives. “As with all murder investigations, understanding the ‘why’ is a key part of our inquiries. This has been and remains a particularly intensive and complex investigation.” Kerry lived alone with his dog on the outskirts of Rotherham following the death of his dad Paul. Taylor said counter terrorism teams have gathered “a huge amount of information” over the last week – leading to more than 800 lines of enquiry. The investigation has been led by Counter Terrorism Policing South East, supported by Devon and Cornwall Police. The horror unfolded after Ann’s domestic assistant found the Strictly star at her bungalow in Haytor, Dartmoor, on July 9. The Reform UK spokeswoman is believed to have been bludgeoned to death in her isolated home at around 12.30pm the day before. Her final interview was recorded just minutes before she is believed to have been killed. Police did not announce that they had started a murder investigation until the afternoon of July 10. A 26-year-old man initially arrested on suspicion of murder was released with no further action. Officers then arrested Kerry on suspicion of murder before he was re-arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. The suspect “was not known” to the Prevent programme, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood previously said. Ann was a Tory MP between 1987 and 2010 for the Kent constituency of Maidstone, later Maidstone & The Weald. She also held several ministerial positions in Sir John Major’s government. Following her departure from the Commons, she appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010 and was a runner-up on Celebrity Big Brother eight years later. Ann later switched allegiance to the Brexit Party and then Reform UK where she became a party spokeswoman.