UK man charged over Farage terror plot

The man accused of murdering former UK Conservative minister Ann Widdecombe has additionally been charged with preparing a terrorist attack on Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

Joshua Kerry, 28, of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was charged on Friday under the Terrorism Act 2006 and will appear in court on Wednesday, police said. The new charge relates to activities that allegedly took place between May 31 and July 8.

“We have been running a hugely intensive and complex investigation for some time. The charge announced today is a result of the tireless work of investigators across the Counter Terrorism Policing network,” said Vicki Evans, Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing.

“My profound sympathies are with Nigel Farage and his family. Let no one make any mistake: an attack on anyone in politics is an attack on us all,” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood wrote on X. She added that the case “raises serious questions about the security of those in public life.”

Kerry was arrested shortly after Widdecombe’s body was found on July 9 at her rural home in southwest England. Prosecutors allege that the suspect struck the 78-year-old politician 21 times with a hammer in an attack that was caught on camera. No motive has yet been made public.

A Conservative MP for more than two decades, Widdecombe served as employment minister and later as prisons minister. From 2019 to 2020, she was a member of the European Parliament for the Brexit Party, which Farage co-founded.

She was known for her socially conservative views, opposing same-sex marriage and abortion. In 2019, a theater show featuring Widdecombe was canceled after critics accused her of endorsing conversion therapy, the controversial practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Widdecombe argued that her comments had been misconstrued.