Joshua Kerry was charged on Friday with one count of preparation of terrorist acts, and the charge includes alleged activity against Nigel Farage. The new charge comes alongside the murder case against Kerry over the death of Anne Widdecombe, who was 78.
Widdecombe was found dead on Thursday 9 July at her home in Haytor, Devon, after she had sustained serious injuries. Kerry was charged in July with her murder, and the fresh terror allegation now adds a separate count ahead of his appearance in court on Wednesday.
Vicki Evans on Friday
Counter Terrorism Policing Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said the charge was the result of a “hugely intensive and complex investigation”. Frank Ferguson of the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division said prosecutors had “worked closely” with police to bring the charge.
The terror allegation covers activity said to have taken place between May 2024 and July 2026. That date range sits alongside a charge brought on Friday, which points to an allegation of conduct spanning a period that extends beyond the point at which the case is now moving through the courts.
Anne Widdecombe and Nigel Farage
Anne Widdecombe served as Conservative MP for Maidstone in Kent for 23 years and held ministerial roles in Sir John Major's government in the 1990s. After leaving the Commons, she appeared on the 's Strictly Come Dancing and later became a Reform UK spokeswoman.
Nigel Farage is Reform UK leader and is named in the terror count as an alleged target. Kerry now faces both the murder case over Widdecombe and the separate preparation-of-terrorist-acts charge, with Wednesday’s court appearance the next step in the case.
The unanswered point is the most specific one: what exact acts Kerry is alleged to have prepared. The charge identifies the offence and the named target, but the court process will have to spell out the conduct said to sit behind it.
