Everything we know about Ann Widdecombe murder suspect Joshua Kerry

The man arrested on suspicion of the murder of former MP Ann Widdecombe has been named and pictured for the first time. Joshua Kerry, 28, was detained by counter-terror police at the council house in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where he lived alone on 11 July, three days after Widdecombe, 78, was killed at her home in the village of Haytor, Devon. Kerry has been described by local residents and neighbours as a “recluse” who rarely left the house and had been caring for his father in the months before the alleged attack. Shorts A picture, first published by The Daily Mail, shows Kerry with long hair, a thick beard and glasses smiling in an office in 2022. It is understood Kerry worked briefly at a local lift company and the photo was taken as part of publicity for a charity fundraiser. His appearance is markedly different from the balding, shirtless man who was captured on CCTV being led away from his home in handcuffs by police. Nigel Farage laid flowers at Dartmoor National Park near the home of Reform UK party member Ann Widdecombe (Photo: Jack Taylor/Reuters) Kerry’s family Kerry is the youngest of three brothers who all grew up on the Kimberworth Park estate, which sits within the Keppel ward of Rotherham Council. The local population is 93.5 per cent White British and the Kimberworth Park West neighbourhood ranks in the 10 per cent most deprived in England. It is understood Kerry’s parents separated when the children were very young. His mother moved away from the area and remarried while his father remained in Rotherham. A resident who knew the family from that time said they did not believe the boys were living with the father after their parents separated. However, it is understood that Kerry had in later times been living alone with his father in their council house until his father, who was an amputee having lost a limb to diabetes, died shortly before Christmas 2025. A neighbour said they believed Kerry had been caring for his father while he was still at home as they could see a bed had been moved downstairs. The pair had a dog and a red Vauxhall Corsa on the driveway, but residents say they rarely saw Kerry leave the house, and certainly not in the car. Locals said the vehicle had been used so little it was showing significant signs of rust. Widdecombe, a former Conservative MP and minister who later became a Brexit Party MEP and Reform UK spokesperson, was found dead at around 11.40am on Thursday 9 July at her Devon home, which was more than 260 miles from the suspect’s address in Rotherham. According to CCTV, a man was seen getting into a vehicle at about 7.50am on Wednesday 8 July, less than six hours before police believe she was attacked. Neighbours say they saw the man leaving home and getting into a red Vauxhall Corsa holding what appeared to be a wooden stick. ‘He kept himself to himself’ A neighbour told The i Paper: “I used to see him [Josh Kerry] going about his business. “But then we didn’t see the back door open much. “He kept himself to himself. He used to stand at the back door, there was never anything suspicious about him. “The grass [in the back garden] never got cut, it did when his dad was living there but now it’s all overgrown. I never heard him in the garden anymore.” The neighbour said: “He used to have long hair with a ponytail, then he cut it and he was balding on top. “They used to stand outside, dad and son, but then he died. His dad used to sit out the back when the weather was nice. “Then one day the curtains were open and I saw the bed downstairs. I know he had been to hospital with his dad. “I don’t think he had many people to the house, I never saw any friends. “He was like a bit of a recluse, I never saw him going out shopping, I never saw him at the bus stop. “We’re all a bit shocked, you never know what’s on your doorstep.” Widdecombe was killed at her home in the village of Haytor, Devon, earlier this month (Photo: Simon Dawson/Reuters) ‘Arrest a massive shock for family’ Local residents in Kimberworth Park who knew Kerry and his brothers from when he attended Wingfield Academy high school did not recall him having strong political views at that time. One woman, who asked not to be named, recalled how he went by the nickname ‘Jesus’, which she believed related to his appearance. It is believed in the months before Widdecombe’s murder, Kerry had barely left the house, to the extent some neighbours thought the property was vacant. Another resident said the only time they had seen Kerry in the past year was when he visited the residents and tenants association in Kimberworth Park, which is in a building only a few doors down from his house and operates a café and sells second-hand clothes three times a week. “He came in, looked around, didn’t say anything to anyone and then walked out. I remember it because I thought he looked peculiar,” the resident said. A relative of Kerry said: “I haven’t seen him or spoken to him in years. “He’s quiet and as far as I know he never goes out. I’ve got no idea why not. “His dad’s death was a nasty setback,” they said. The relative said they did not know if Kerry had any interest in politics but added: “I never had anything to do with him. “The last time I saw him was when his dad was in hospital. “His arrest is a massive shock for all the family.” Suspect ‘spiralled’ after father’s death It is understood Kerry had remained close to his father, who had coached a local football team and worked in engineering before suffering ill-health. One relative, Kerry’s uncle, speculated that his nephew had “spiralled” after his father died. He told the BBC he nearly “fell to the floor” with shock when he found out Kerry had been arrested in connection with Widdecombe’s murder. “My legs went like jelly,” he said. “He’s the last person I would think would do anything like that.” The uncle has been in contact with Kerry’s mother and said the family is in total shock and cannot understand what has happened. “I would drive past his house nearly every day and 99 times out of a 100 the car would be there.” After Kerry was initially arrested on suspicion of Widdecombe’s murder, he was then rearrested on suspicion of preparing for an act of terrorism. It is understood this came about as a result of evidence recovered from Kerry and his property including electronic devices. Counter-terror police have refused to be drawn on which kind of ideology may be involved in the case. The Daily Mail reports that one item of evidence relates to “Russian communist literature”, while The Guardian also believes the investigation is considering whether left-wing or single-issue extremism is involved. A report published be the National Counter Terrorism Security office in 2022 considered the threat from Left-Wing, Anarchist and Single-Issue Terrorism (LASIT). It said this category encompasses a wide range of ideologies including “those from the political left-wing as well as anarchists who seek to use violence to advance their cause in opposition to the capitalist system”. It also includes those with single-issue grievances who seek to use violence in opposition to a specific policy or practice. The UK has very little history of LASIT attacks. The threat was graded as “low” and the prospect of an attack was “unlikely”. According to a report, there are currently no left-wing, anarchist or single-issue proscribed organisations in the UK and the majority of LASIT activity “continues to fall below the terrorism threshold”.