A British man accused of murdering veteran right-wing ex-MP Ann Widdecombe, allegedly hitting her 21 times with a hammer, was kept in custody on Tuesday after his first court hearings.

Joshua Kerry, 28, of Rotherham in northern England, appeared emotionless in the dock at Westminster Magistrates' Court, speaking only to confirm his name, date of birth and address, during the short hearing.

A short time later he made a second appearance at the Old Bailey crown court, where the most serious cases are heard, and a provisional trial date of June 8 next year was set.

Police arrested him on July 11 on suspicion of murder, two days after 78-year-old Widdecombe – a spokesperson for the hard-right Reform UK party and a former Conservative minister – was found dead at her bungalow in Devon, south-western England.

Kerry was also arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, but he has not been charged with this offence.

A suspected motive has not been disclosed, but the head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing Laurence Taylor said on Monday that detectives were still investigating a possible political or terrorist motivation.

Summarising the case to chief magistrate Paul Goldspring, prosecutor Kashif Malik said Kerry allegedly used a hammer to hit Widdecombe on the top of her head 21 times.

The former lawmaker had been eating lunch when he allegedly walked through her front door and attacked her, after driving from his home about 500 kilometres away.

He is accused of then taking a wallet from her handbag and driving off, spending just two minutes inside the property, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard.

Widdecombe's gardener found her body lying face down on her kitchen floor.

A provisional cause of death was given as a "blunt force injury to the head," according to Malik.

Kerry will next appear at the Old Bailey on October 9 for a case management hearing, ahead of a further plea and trial preparation hearing on November 20.

The murder of the high-profile 78-year-old sparked strong reactions from politicians, including Reform MPs who have called for improved security for lawmakers.

Widdecombe is the third UK politician murdered in an attack this decade.

Labour Party MP Jo Cox was murdered in 2016 by a neo-Nazi sympathiser and Conservative lawmaker David Amess was killed in 2021 by an Islamic State group follower. (AFP)



Edited by Robert Kemp