The man accused of murdering former Conservative government minister Ann Widdecombe and of allegedly plotting a terror attack against Brexit leader Nigel Farage had “an extreme Left-wing mindset”, the Old Bailey heard this week.
Joshua Kerry, 28, of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, had conducted research compiling information on politicians and other public figures, including the “home addresses of both Ann Widdecombe and Nigel Farage,” prosecutor Jonathan Polnay KC claimed according to London’s Daily Telegraph.
Mr Polnay told the Old Bailey that Kerry had “created a note on his phone using the notes app, and it is that, that contained the home addresses of politicians and prominent figures” and added: “Analysis of the defendant’s telephone demonstrates an extreme Left-wing and/or anti-establishment mindset.”
Kerry, who was previously charged with the murder of former Conservative MP and Reform UK spokeswoman Ann Widdecombe, who was bludgeoned to death in her country home over the summer, is also facing charges of plotting an attack on Reform chief Nigel Farage.
The prosecution told the court that Widdecombe’s murder appears to have had a “terrorist connection” and that it was likely “politically and ideologically motivated,” the BBC reported.
Prosecutors also claimed that the murder of 78-year-old Widdecombe and the alleged terror plot against Mr Farage were “inextricably linked”. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb agreed to let the prosecution combine the related charges from the two trials into one case.
In July, Kerry was charged with murdering Ms Widdecombe, who was found dead in her Devon home in July after allegedly being hit in the head with a hammer some 21 times.
Prosecutors previously told the court that Kerry had driven some 265 miles from his home in Rotherham to Widdecombe’s Devon property in a van, which was later discovered with a hammer inside.
Earlier this month, he was also charged with plotting a terror attack on Nigel Farage and other prominent political figures. This week, prosecutors claimed Kerry tried to break into Mr Farage’s home.
A five-week trial has been scheduled for June 8 of next year, with the next hearing scheduled for January 29. Kerry, who appeared before the court via video link from HMP Belmarsh, is set to contest all charges against him.