The first court hearing for the man accused of killing former Conservative minister Ann Widdecombe has revealed new details about the events leading up to her death, as prosecutors began laying out the evidence in one of Britain’s most closely watched criminal cases. The emotional hearing has reignited public attention, with heartbreaking accounts of the politician’s final hours leaving many eager to learn what investigators say happened next

We’re ending our live coverage of Joshua Kerry’s first appearance at court after he was charged with Ann Widdecombe’s murder.

Before we go, here is a quick recap of today’s events:

• An inquest into Widdecombe’s death was held earlier this morning in Exeter, where Philip Spinney, senior coroner for Devon, said the medical cause is yet to be established and it was adjourned until the end of criminal proceedings.
• Joshua Kerry arrived at Westminster Magistrates’ Court earlier this morning, although the matter was delayed on multiple occasions.
• The hearing was held this afternoon, where Kerry entered the dock and was flanked by three officers and chief magistrate Paul Goldspring remanded Kerry in custody, saying the murder charge can only be heard in a crown court.
• The court heard Kerry walked into Widdecombe’s kitchen and allegedly used a hammer to hit her on the head 21 times, taking a wallet from her handbag before driving off.

• A provisional cause of death was given as “blunt force injury to the head”, prosecutors told the court.
• The matter was then heard at the Old Bailey and Kerry will next appear in the same court on 9 October.
• A provisional trial date was listed for 8 June 2027.

Scroll down to read our full coverage.

Joshua Kerry has been remanded in custody after appearing at the Old Bailey charged with the murder of Ann Widdecombe.

Prosecutor Alistair Richardson told the court that before his arrest, Kerry was living in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, 265 miles from Widdecombe’s address in Devon.

Kerry will appear at the same court on 9 October for a case management hearing before a further plea and trial preparation hearing on 20 November.

A provisional trial date was listed for 8 June 2027.

A court artist was at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to produce these drawings of Joshua Kerry in the dock.

He wore a grey tracksuit for the short hearing and appeared emotionless throughout, speaking only to confirm his name, date of birth and address.

Correspondent Barnaby Papadopulos was at Westminster Magistrates’ Court for the brief hearing earlier.

The murder charge, he reports, is “so serious” that the magistrate sent the matter over to be heard at the Old Bailey.

Joshua Kerry is due to appear there later this afternoon.

Ann Widdecombe was struck 21 times on her head with a hammer, Westminster Magistrates’ Court has heard.

Prosecutor Kashif Malik said the former Tory minister had been eating lunch when the suspect allegedly pulled up outside her house in Devon in a red Vauxhall Corsa before going in through the front door.

The court was told the suspect, 28-year-old Joshua Kerry, walked into Widdecombe’s kitchen and allegedly used a hammer to hit her on the head 21 times.

He allegedly tipped the Reform UK spokeswoman from her chair and took a wallet from her handbag before driving off, spending roughly two minutes in her home.

A provisional cause of death was given as a “blunt force injury to the head”, prosecutors told the court.

Earlier today, the opening of the inquest into her death heard that although a post-mortem examination had taken place, “at this stage the precise medical cause of death has yet to be established”.

Joshua Kerry, the 28-year-old suspect in Ann Widdecombe’s murder, will appear at the Old Bailey this afternoon.

Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring has remanded him in custody until then.

Goldspring tells Kerry: “You’re charged with an offence of murder which can only be dealt with in a crown court.”

He added: “You are therefore remanded into custody and sent to crown court.”

Joshua Kerry has just entered the dock of Westminster Magistrates’ Court 1 flanked by three officers, writes correspondent Barnaby Papadopulos.

The room is nearly full, with court staff, legal counsel and members of the press along with some members of the public.

The 28-year-old is wearing a grey tracksuit. His hair is shorter than in photos previously published of him. He sits down with his arms folded but stands to give his name, age and address.

Kerry is not asked to enter a plea.

The suspect in the murder of Ann Widdecombe is due in court shortly.

The hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court for Joshua Kerry was delayed this morning to a 2pm start.

Correspondent Barnaby Papadopulos, who is at the court, says it isn’t clear what caused the delay, but it is believed Kerry’s legal team wanted to speak to their client before proceedings began.

This is the first court appearance for Kerry, 28, who has been formally charged with Widdecombe’s murder.

As a reminder, Joshua Kerry has been charged with one count of murder after Ann Widdecombe’s death earlier this month.

The 28-year-old was arrested on suspicion of the former Tory minister’s murder on 11 July.

Two days later, counter terrorism police took over the investigation and Kerry was rearrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism two days later.

He has not been charged with any terrorism offences, but assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of counter terrorism policing, said that “determining the motivation, including any possible political motivation, remains an active avenue of investigation”.

Taylor said yesterday that teams were pursuing more than 800 lines of inquiry after gathering a large amount of information in the past week.

We brought you the news a little earlier that the hearing for Joshua Kerry at Westminster Magistrates’ Court would be delayed until this afternoon.

Such delays are “pretty common”, explains correspondent Barnaby Papadopulos, who is at the court in central London today.

“Cases, especially at magistrates’ courts, are often pushed back, and there are other cases that the magistrates need to get to,” he explains.

“We think Kerry arrived quite late and his legal team will have wanted to have spoken to him before any proceedings began.”

Watch his full report…

A member of court staff has just told assembled journalists that the start of the hearing has been pushed back until 2pm, writes correspondent Barnaby Papadopulos at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

It’s not clear what’s caused the delay – but suspect Joshua Kerry’s legal team, including his solicitor Andrew Swaby, will want to speak to him before proceedings begin.

The 28-year-old arrived in the building a short time ago.

We will return closer to 2pm with regular updates from court.

It is “plain” that Ann Widdecombe is “much loved and greatly missed”, the senior coroner for Devon said as he opened her inquest a short while ago.

Philip Spinney offered his “deepest condolences” to Widdecombe’s family and described her death as “an intensely private matter”.

Spinney explained that the purpose of today’s hearing was to formally open her inquest – but it would be put on hold until the criminal case is resolved.

The hearing for murder suspect Joshua Kerry has been delayed until 10.30am.

We will bring you updates when it starts at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

The medical cause of Ann Widdecombe’s death is yet to be established, a coroner has said.

Philip Spinney, senior coroner for Devon, set out the circumstances of the former MP’s death as he opened and adjourned her inquest in Exeter this morning.

Running through the details of the case, the coroner said “concerns were raised” on 9 July that Widdecombe was uncontactable and an employee was “asked to conduct a welfare check”.

The former MP was “found to be unresponsive and with visible injuries”.

A post mortem has been taken but “at this stage the precise medical cause of death is yet to be established”, Spinney said.

He added that it “continues to be an intensive and complex investigation” for police.

The inquest has been adjourned until the end of criminal proceedings.

Joshua Kerry has arrived at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

The hearing for the 28-year-old suspect is due to get under way shortly.

Kerry has been formally charged with Widdecombe’s murder.

The inquest into Ann Widdecombe’s death is starting in Exeter.

Philip Spinney, senior coroner for the county of Devon, has opened the inquest.

We’ll bring you all the updates we are able to here, so stay with us.

Ann Widdecombe last appeared publicly during a segment on Talk TV on the morning of 8 July.

She appeared on a breakfast show and discussed the decision of the party’s leader, Nigel Farage, to stand down as an MP.

The Reform UK spokeswoman and former MP was found with “significant injuries” at her home in Dartmoor in Devon the next morning.

Here is a timeline of what we know so far…

Wednesday 8 July

• Widdecombe spoke on Talk TV, with the interview airing at around 8am.
• She had been due to appear on a Channel 5 TV show that afternoon. Widdecombe’s last message to a producer came at 12.19pm, according to messages obtained by ITV News.
• The alarm was sounded when she stopped replying to messages after this and did not join a Zoom link for her appearance.

Thursday 9 July

• Devon and Cornwall Police officers were called to Widdecombe’s home in Haytor, Devon, at 11.40am. She was found dead at the property, and had “sustained serious injuries”.

Friday 10 July

• Widdecombe’s death was announced by her representative in the morning – with Sky News reporting the announcement shortly before 6.30am. The nature of her death was not revealed by her representative at that time.
• Shortly after 3.30pm, police announced they were investigating Widdecombe’s death. Less than half an hour later, detectives confirmed it was a murder investigation.
• At about 4.45 pm, Devon and Cornwall Police said a 26-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Saturday 11 July

• Shortly before 6.30am on Saturday, police said the man arrested the previous day had been released – and was no longer part of the investigation.
• Shortly after 11.30pm, police said they had arrested a 28-year-old man in Rotherham on suspicion of murder.

Sunday 12 July

• At around 11.30am, in an official update, police said there was nothing to suggest Widdecombe’s death was politically motivated or connected to terrorism. Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed officers were not looking for anyone else in connection with the investigation.

Monday 13 July

• Just after 12.30pm it was announced that counter terrorism police were leading the investigation after “new information and evidence has come to light”.
• The 28-year-old suspect was re-arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

Tuesday 14 July

• Home secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs the suspect was not known to Prevent, the government’s programme that aims to stop individuals who are at risk of becoming terrorists.
• At around 4pm, counter-terrorism police said they believe Widdecombe was killed in a “targeted attack”.

Monday 20 July

• Joshua Kerry, 28, is formally charged with Widdecombe’s murder.

This is the first known picture of suspect Joshua Kerry.

Kerry previously worked at a lift installation and repair company in 2022, when the photo was taken.

He was arrested in Rotherham on suspicion of Ann Widdecombe’s murder on 11 July.

Sky News is at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, where the man charged with murdering Ann Widdecombe is due to appear later this morning.

Correspondent Barnaby Papadopulos explains what we can expect from the first hearing for Joshua Kerry:

Joshua Kerry was initially arrested on suspicion of murder on 11 July, two days after Ann Widdecombe was found dead at her home in Devon.

Police said 78-year-old Widdecombe was found with “serious injuries” on 9 July, but did not disclose a cause of death.

The Reform UK spokeswoman and former Tory minister had failed to appear for a scheduled TV interview with Channel 5 the previous day.

Police later said Widdecombe was suspected to have been killed in a “targeted attack”.

Kerry, 28, was arrested in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on 11 July on suspicion of murder.

He was later rearrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. He has not been charged with this offence.

Counter terrorism policing chief Laurence Taylor said yesterday that the investigation into the motive behind the attack was ongoing.