Former British Politician Ann Widdecombe Murdered in Home Attack

Former British politician Ann Widdecombe was struck 21 times on the head with a hammer as she was eating lunch at home, a prosecutor has told a court hearing for the man charged with her murder.

Joshua Kerry, 28, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Tuesday, local time, over the killing that shocked the public and the political establishment.

Ms Widdecombe, 78, was eating around noon on July 8 when Kerry drove to her house in an isolated south-west England village, prosecutor Kashif Malik said.

Mr Kerry walked through the front door and beat her with a hammer, took her wallet and was gone two minutes after the attack began.

Blunt force injury to the head was listed as the provisional cause of death.

Mr Kerry was charged on Monday afternoon, local time, while in custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder and acts of terror.

Police are investigating his motive, including a potential political or terrorist connection, prosecutors said.

Mr Kerry, who wore a grey sweatsuit, spoke only to confirm his identity and did not enter a plea. He was held in custody and was scheduled to appear in the Central Criminal Court on October 9.

Ms Widdecombe, a former member of parliament and government minister, was a prominent political voice known for her blunt, socially conservative views opposing abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.

When she failed to appear for a scheduled interview on July 8, TV producers called her assistant, who contacted her gardener, prosecutors said. He found Ms Widdecombe lying face down on her kitchen floor the next day.

Mr Kerry was arrested July 11 in South Yorkshire, a northern English county where he lived, more than 400 kilometres from Ms Widdecombe's home in the village of Haytor, on the edge of Dartmoor National Park.

Ms Widdecombe was a MP in the House of Commons from 1987 to 2010, serving as a prisons minister in Prime Minister John Major's 1990s Conservative government.

She found fame after leaving Parliament as a contestant on the reality television shows "Strictly Come Dancing" and "Celebrity Big Brother."

She later joined the Brexit Party, briefly serving as a member of the European Parliament before Britain left the European Union in 2020.

Most recently, she joined the anti-immigration Reform UK, often appearing in the media as the party's immigration and justice spokesperson.

Ms Widdecombe's killing has renewed concerns over the security for politicians, which had been tightened in the past decade after the murders of two prominent MPs.

Labour politician Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.