Ann Widdecombe was hit on head repeatedly with hammer, prosecutors say
Ann Widdecombe died after being hit on the head with a hammer 21 times at her Devon home as she ate lunch, prosecutors have told Westminster Magistrates' Court.
Prosecutor Kashif Malik said the man accused of her murder, Joshua Kerry, arrived at her house on 8 July in a red Vauxhall Corsa and entered through the front door.
Kerry, who prosecutors say was only in the property for two minutes and was wearing black gloves, then allegedly hit Widdecombe repeatedly with a hammer, tipped her from her chair and took her wallet before driving off, the court heard.
The 28-year-old from South Yorkshire, who is charged with murder, was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey later on Tuesday.
Malik told the court that Widdecombe did not attend a pre-arranged online interview with Channel 5's Matt Allwright show that had been scheduled for just before 13:00 BST on 8 July.
The show's production team tried to contact Widdecombe through her personal assistant, who then asked Widdecombe's gardener to check on her, the court heard.
Prosecutors said the gardener entered the house via the open front door on 9 July, and found Widdecombe lying face down on her kitchen floor with a serious head injury.
Emergency services were called, but she was pronounced dead at 12:20 the same day, an earlier inquest hearing was told.
Malik told the chief magistrate that security camera footage from her home in Haytor showed she had been fatally attacked the day before.
He added that police were still investigating whether there was a terrorism connection or political motivation for the attack.
Kerry, from Rotherham, appeared emotionless in the dock and spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address during the short hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court. He did not indicate a plea.
Kerry was charged with one count of murder last night following an investigation led by counter-terrorism detectives.
The court heard that a pathologist had given a provisional cause of Widdecombe's death as a blunt force injury to the head.
But earlier on Tuesday, the opening of an inquest into her death heard that while a post-mortem examination had taken place, "at this stage the precise medical cause of death has yet to be established".
Widdecombe's career in politics spanned decades.
She served as Conservative MP for Maidstone in Kent for 23 years and was appointed to ministerial roles in Sir John Major's government in the 1990s.
Following her departure from the Commons, Widdecombe appeared on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing in 2010 and was a runner-up on Celebrity Big Brother eight years later.
She later represented South West England as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Brexit Party and in 2023 she joined Reform UK as a party spokeswoman.