The 78-year-old Reform UK spokeswoman and former Tory minister was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon, on July 9 with serious head injuries.
Joshua Kerry, 28, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, appeared in court on Tuesday charged with her murder. Prosecutors said she had been hit 21 times over the head with a hammer in a ‘planned and targeted’ attack carried out with a ‘ferocity of violence’.
In a statement issued this morning, Miss Widdecombe’s family said: ‘We understand that there is significant public interest in the funeral of Ann Widdecombe.
‘A private service for family and close friends will be held in the coming weeks, and invitations for this ceremony have been distributed. A more public memorial will follow later in the year, the details of which will be released in due course.
‘While we are very grateful for the wide expression of condolences, the family would ask that this initial service is limited to those closest to Ann.’
On Tuesday, the Old Bailey heard Miss Widdecombe was having lunch at her home when Kerry allegedly burst into her bungalow.
He was arrested on suspicion of murder on July 11, two days after she was found dead.
Ann Widdecombe was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon, on July 9
He was also arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism – but he has not been charged with this offence.
But he will have to wait almost a year if the case goes to trial after a provisional date was set for June 8, 2027.
Prosecutor Alistair Richardson said that on July 8, Miss Widdecombe did not attend a pre-arranged online interview at just before 1pm, which would have been aired live on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright show.
The show’s production team tried to contact Miss Widdecombe through her personal assistant, who then asked the family gardener to check on her, the court heard.
Prosecutors said he found the politician lying face down on her kitchen floor with a serious head injury the next day, July 9.
Mr Richardson said that on July 8, Miss Widdecombe had been eating lunch when Kerry allegedly pulled up outside the front of her house in a red Vauxhall Corsa and entered through the front door.
Kerry then allegedly used a hammer to hit Miss Widdecombe on the top of her head 21 times, the court heard.
He is accused of tipping her from her chair and taking a wallet out of her handbag before leaving and driving off, having only been in the house for two minutes, the court heard.
Joshua Kerry, 28, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, has been charged with murder
A court artist’s sketch of Joshua Kerry at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday
A provisional cause of death was given as a blunt force injury to the head, the court heard.
Mr Richardson said that Kerry had driven 265 miles from his home to carry out the ‘ferocity of violence’ in the ‘planned and targeted’ attack.
A bearded Kerry had earlier appeared emotionless in the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court wearing a grey tracksuit, and spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and Byrley Road address.
He will next appear at the Old Bailey on October 9 for a case management hearing before a further plea and trial preparation hearing on November 20.
Speaking outside New Scotland Yard on Monday, head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing Laurence Taylor said detectives are still investigating any possible political or terrorist motivation.
Miss Widdecombe was first elected as a Conservative MP in Kent in 1987, was a prisons minister in the 1990s and later became an MEP for the Brexit Party.
At the time of her death she was a spokeswoman on immigration and justice for Reform UK.
She also found fame outside politics on Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.
