Widdecombe Murder Suspect Charged With Preparing Terrorist Acts Against Farage
publishers 27articles 31first reported 2 Oct, 18:45 UTCdeveloping since 3 Oct · 7 editions
Joshua Kerry, the man accused of murdering former Conservative minister Ann Widdecombe, has been charged with preparing acts of terrorism, including against Nigel Farage, British police said.
The Crown Prosecution Service charged Kerry, 28, of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on Friday with one count of preparation of terrorist acts. Counter-terrorism police said the charge concerns alleged activity between May 31, 2024, and July 8 this year. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Kerry is separately accused of murdering Widdecombe, 78, a Reform UK spokesperson, at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon. A court previously heard that she was struck 21 times on the head with a hammer. Her gardener found her on the kitchen floor on July 9, and emergency services pronounced her dead shortly afterward. Kerry did not enter a plea during a July hearing.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the new charge would be “extremely concerning” and raised questions about protections for politicians. She said she would update Parliament on work to strengthen security for people in public life when it returns.
Vicki Evans, head of counter-terrorism policing, described the investigation as intensive and complex, involving detectives, analysts and forensic experts across the counter-terrorism policing network.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 6 articles, 1 with the publisher's own text; 6 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written within the hour the record first saw the story; the editor revised it.
- Publishers
- 27
- Source articles
- 31
- Given to the writer
- 6, 1 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 6
- This version written
- within the hour the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- revised
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and changed it before publication. Struck words were in the draft; underlined words are its corrections.
WHAT IT FLAGGED editor revise: The story needs two sourced-detail corrections: remove the unsupported description of Farage as Reform UK leader and align the alleged activity date with the source wording. - "against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage": The sources support acts of terrorism including against Nigel Farage, but the provided source excerpt does not identify Farage as Reform UK leader; it identifies him through 'Farage’s Reform UK party.' - "between May 31, 2024, and July 8, 2026": The sourced allegation is between 31 May 2024 and 8 July this year, which in the current context is 2026 only if inferred from date, but the source wording does not give 2026 in the excerpt. - "Her gardener found her on the kitchen floor": The source says Widdecombe was found lying face down on her kitchen floor; omitting 'face down' is minor, but 'on the kitchen floor' is supported. No material problem.
THE DRAFT AND THE CHANGES
Widdecombe Murder Suspect Charged With Preparing Terrorist Acts Against Farage
Joshua Kerry, the man accused of murdering former Conservative minister Ann Widdecombe, has been charged with preparing acts of terrorism, including against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, British police said.
The Crown Prosecution Service charged Kerry, 28, of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on Friday with one count of preparation of terrorist acts. Counter-terrorism police said the charge concerns alleged activity between May 31, 2024, and July 8,8 2026.this year. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Kerry is separately accused of murdering Widdecombe, 78, a Reform UK spokesperson, at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon. A court previously heard that she was struck 21 times on the head with a hammer. Her gardener found her on the kitchen floor on July 9, and emergency services pronounced her dead shortly afterward. Kerry did not enter a plea during a July hearing.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the new charge would be “extremely concerning” and raised questions about protections for politicians. She said she would update Parliament on work to strengthen security for people in public life when it returns.
Vicki Evans, head of counter-terrorism policing, described the investigation as intensive and complex, involving detectives, analysts and forensic experts across the counter-terrorism policing network.
Written by a language model from the sources above, then checked by a second model that may only cut, attribute or correct. How it works →