A 28-year-old man already charged with the murder of Ann Widdecombe has been charged with preparing acts of terrorism "including against Nigel Farage MP", Counter Terrorism Policing announced on Friday.
Joshua Kerry, of Byrley Road, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was charged with one count of preparation of terrorist acts, contrary to section 5(1)(a) of the Terrorism Act 2006, after authorisation from the Crown Prosecution Service. It appears to be the first time the police or prosecutors have formally identified the Reform UK leader as an alleged target in the investigation into Widdecombe's death.
The charge relates to activity alleged to have taken place between 31 May 2024 and 8 July 2026, the date on which Widdecombe is alleged to have been attacked at her home in Devon. Kerry is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday 7 October.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, said: "We have been running a hugely intensive and complex investigation for some time."
She added: "This investigation has been led by a dedicated team of detectives, analysts, and forensic experts, working on multiple lines of enquiry, which has resulted in this very serious charge."
Frank Ferguson, Chief Crown Prosecutor of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: "Having carefully reviewed the evidence we have made the decision to prosecute Joshua Kerry for engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts."
He said prosecutors had worked closely with police to establish that there was sufficient evidence to bring the case to court, and added: "We remind all concerned that proceedings against Joshua Kerry remain active and he has the right to a fair trial."
Neither the police nor the CPS has set out what the alleged preparation consisted of. The particulars of the charge would normally be opened in court at the hearing on 7 October.
Widdecombe, 78, a former Conservative MP for Maidstone and prisons minister who later served as an MEP and was a Reform UK spokeswoman, died at her home at Haytor on Dartmoor on 8 July. Kerry was arrested on suspicion of murder on 11 July and charged on 20 July, after an investigation overseen by Counter Terrorism Policing that followed an initial inquiry by Devon and Cornwall Police.
He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 21 July, where the case was sent to the Old Bailey, and was remanded in custody the same day. Prosecutors told the court the attack was planned and targeted. Kerry has entered no plea, and a provisional trial date of 8 June 2027 was fixed. It has not been said whether the terrorism count will be tried alongside the murder charge, or whether the existing timetable will hold.
Counter Terrorism Policing said in August that it had reopened an investigation into an incident reported to the Metropolitan Police in April 2025, at an address in Greater London, which Farage has said is his home, as part of the inquiry into Widdecombe's murder. The incident was recorded at the time as an attempted burglary. No arrests were made and the investigation was closed pending any new lines of inquiry.
Counter Terrorism Policing London made a mandatory conduct referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which said it had "decided to independently investigate the conduct of a Counter Terrorism Policing London staff member following a referral received earlier today". The allegation concerns a failure to identify and pursue a line of inquiry. The staff member has not been named.
Farage has described the incident at his home as an "outright arson attempt" involving a lit device pushed through the letterbox, and said in August that counter-terrorism officers had "made some mistakes", which was why they had referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Police have not publicly confirmed Farage's assertion that the two matters are directly linked, and the charging announcement does not state that the April 2025 incident forms part of the terrorism count. No one has been charged in connection with it.
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