Ann Widdecombe's family issues new statement after man charged with murder

Ann Widdecombe was brutally attacked in her home in Devon this month - it is believed a 28-year-old man used a hammer to hit her on the top of her head 21 times

Tannur Anders UK & World News Reporter

06:02, 23 Jul 2026Updated 07:18, 23 Jul 2026

Late Reform UK member Ann Widdecombe(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The family of late Reform UK member Ann Widdecombe have said her public memorial will be held later this year.

Widdecombe, 78, was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon, on July 9. She had sustained serious head injuries after being brutally attacked with a hammer.

Joshua Kerry, 28, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, appeared in court on Tuesday and has been charged with her murder.

[Court sketch of Joshua Kerry]

Court sketch of Joshua Kerry, 28, appearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London(Image: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire)

Widdecombe's family said in a statement: "We understand that there is significant public interest in the funeral of Ann Widdecombe.

"A private service for family and close friends will be held in the coming weeks, and invitations for this ceremony have been distributed. A more public memorial will follow later in the year, the details of which will be released in due course.

"While we are very grateful for the wide expression of condolences, the family would ask that this initial service is limited to those closest to Ann."

Prosecutors have said that the Reform UK spokeswoman and former Tory minister had been eating lunch on July 8 when Kerry allegedly pulled up outside the front of her home entered through the front door.

[Ann Widdecombe]

Ann Widdecombe was hit 21 times in the head with a hammer, the court heard(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)

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Kerry then allegedly used a hammer to hit Widdecombe on the top of her head 21 times.

A provisional cause of death was given as a blunt force injury to the head, the court heard.

Detectives are still investigating any possible political or terrorist motivation linked to the killing.

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