British police announced Friday that Joshua Kerry, the 28-year-old man accused of murdering former MP Ann Widdecombe, has been charged with one count of preparation of terrorist acts — including against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
Counter Terrorism Policing said the charge relates to alleged activity between May 31, 2024 and July 8, 2026. Kerry is expected to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London next Wednesday. Prosecutors said they had "worked closely with police to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring this case to court."
"This charge is the result of a hugely intensive and complex investigation," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing. "Led by a dedicated team of detectives, analysts, and forensic experts, working on multiple lines of enquiry."
Chief Crown Prosecutor Frank Ferguson of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division said prosecutors "carefully reviewed the evidence" before deciding to prosecute, and would continue working with police as the investigation progresses.
Kerry was charged in July with killing Widdecombe, 78, the former Conservative minister turned Reform UK spokeswoman, at her remote Devon home on Dartmoor. She was struck 21 times with a hammer, a court previously heard, and her body was found the next day — police estimated she had been dead for about 24 hours. Kerry allegedly drove nearly 265 miles from his home in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, to carry out the attack. He was arrested on suspicion of murder on July 11, then rearrested on suspicion of terrorism offenses.
Counterterrorism detectives kept digging into Kerry's background after the murder charge — producing Friday's additional count. Separately, in August, counterterrorism police reopened a year-long probe into an alleged firebomb attack at Farage's south London home, previously investigated as "attempted burglary" with no arrests. After the reopening, investigators identified a line of inquiry that was "relevant" but had not been "identified and pursued" at the time.
"An attack on anyone in politics is an attack on us all," Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said on X, offering her "profound sympathies" to Farage and his family. She said the case "raises serious questions about the security of those in public life" and promised an update on strengthening protections once Parliament returns.
Farage said over the summer that he was receiving more than 300 threats a month. In April 2024, crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne gave him a £5 million gift — since heavily scrutinized — which Farage said was for security.
After Wednesday's appearance, the murder and terrorism charges will move through the courts separately. Police stress the investigation continues: what Kerry plotted across more than two years, and whether he acted alone, remain open questions. For British politics, the case has already turned MP safety from a chronic worry into an acute crisis.