LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) – British prosecutors said on Monday a 28-year-old man had been charged with murdering former government minister Ann Widdecombe, and police said they were still investigating why she was attacked.
Widdecombe, 78, who was a prominent member of Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK, was found at her home in rural southwest England on July 9, after sustaining what police described as serious injuries. She stood down from parliament in 2010.
Joshua Kerry, a white British national from northern England, has been charged with her killing, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service said. He will appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Police have said they believe Widdecombe had been clearly targeted, although the motive was still under investigation.
“I want to make it very clear that our investigation into this individual, determining his motivations and any wider activity he may have been involved in, is continuing,” Laurence Taylor, head of Britain’s counter terrorism policing, told reporters.
“Given her political profile and the targeted nature of the attack, determining the motivation, including any possible political motivation, remains an active avenue of investigation for our detectives.”
Widdecombe was known for her socially conservative views, first as a junior minister in Conservative Prime Minister John Major’s 1992 to 1997 government and later as an immigration and justice spokesperson for Reform.
She converted to Catholicism partly in protest at the Church of England’s ordination of women as priests and was opposed to abortion and equalising the age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual relationships.
Her death has raised further concerns about the security of politicians in the country after two serving British members of parliament were also murdered in the last decade.
“I know many have been understandably concerned about their own safety after this horrendous attack, particularly after hearing about the nature of the attack she endured, in her own home,” Taylor said.
He said officers were working closely with the Speaker of the House of Commons and other parliamentary authorities “to ensure elected officials are aware of what we have in place to protect them”.
(Reporting by Michael Holden and Sam Tobin; editing by William James and Deepa Babington)
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