LONDON (AP) — British prosecutors charged a 28-year-old man with murder Monday in the death of former politician and reality TV contestant Ann Widdecombe.
Joshua Kerry was charged after more than a week in custody on suspicion of murder and acts of terror. Police are continuing to investigate his motive, including a potential political or terrorist connection, prosecutors said.
The death of Widdecombe, 78, a former member of Parliament, shocked the British political world, where Widdecombe was a prominent voice for decades. She was a blunt-speaking character known for socially conservative views opposing abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.
Police said they believe Widdecombe was attacked July 8. She failed to appear that afternoon for a scheduled TV interview and was found dead the next day in her isolated rural home in a southwest England village.
Police did not disclose a cause of death, saying only that she had sustained “serious injuries” in what they called a targeted and brutal attack.
“I want to make it very clear that our investigation into this individual, determining his motivations and any wider activity he may have been involved in is continuing," said Laurence Taylor, head of counter-terrorism policing.
“Given Ann Widdecombe’s profile and the targeted nature of the attack, determining the motivation, including any possible political motivation, remains an active avenue of investigation for our detectives," he said.
Taylor added that the investigation is intensive and complex, and detectives were working through more than 800 lines of inquiry.
Kerry was arrested July 11 in South Yorkshire county in northern England, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from the village of Haytor on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, where Widdecombe was found dead Thursday.
Kerry remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
He was originally arrested on suspicion of murder, but after finding new evidence while he was custody, he was rearrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
Widdecombe was in the House of Commons from 1987 to 2010, serving in roles including prisons minister in Prime Minister John Major’s 1990s Conservative government.
She found fame after leaving Parliament as a contestant on the reality television shows “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Celebrity Big Brother.”
She later joined the Brexit Party, briefly serving as a member of the European Parliament before Britain left the European Union in 2020. Most recently, she joined the anti-immigration Reform UK party, often appearing in the media as a spokesperson.
The killing has renewed concerns for politicians about security, which was tightened in the past decade after the murders of two serving members of Parliament. Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.
Police outside the house of former lawmaker Ann Widdecombe, in Haytor, England, Friday July 10, 2026, after she was found dead in her home on Thursday with serious injuries. (Matt Keeble/PA via AP)
FILE -Ann Widdecombe, Brexit Party member, is interviewed after Nigel Farage, Leader of Britain's Brexit Party, spoke on stage at the launch of their policies for the General Election campaign, in London, Nov. 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon's president will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday to wrap up a four-day visit to Washington, in a bid to bring about long-term calm in the war-torn country after months of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
Joseph Aoun's landmark meeting with Trump comes as Lebanon and Israel continue to hold rare direct talks mediated by Washington. Lebanon hopes they will result in Israeli troops withdrawing from large swaths of southern Lebanon that they currently occupy, and for the Lebanese military to receive support to assert full control in areas where Hezbollah militants had held sway.
Lebanon and Israel announced a “framework agreement” on June 26, setting a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon as well as the disarmament of Hezbollah, which for decades had a strong presence in the area. It also lays out steps toward an eventual peace agreement between both countries, which have never held formal diplomatic ties and have been nominally in a state of war for nearly 80 years after Israel’s establishment.
The U.S. State Department announced Monday that operations in three villages deemed part of a “pilot zone” had begun, without giving details on what that entailed. Two of the three villages, Froun and Srifa, are not under Israeli military control and the Lebanese army is present there, while Israeli forces are in part of Zawtar al-Gharbieh.
The Lebanese army in a statement said it was preparing for Israel to withdraw from Zawtar al-Gharbieh and that it had begun deploying troops to the area Tuesday. The Israeli military said it “will adjust its force posture in one of the pilot areas in order to enable the Lebanese Armed Forces to carry out their mission,” without specifying the location.
An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with military guidelines said Tuesday that the withdrawal had not yet begun.
Abed Ezzeldine, Mayor of Zawtar al-Gharbieh said that they are waiting for the Lebanese military to tell him whether its safe for residents to check on their homes after they fully deploy and patrol the area. He is concerned about the safety of his village given that the Israeli military is still present in another village next door, while Israeli strikes continue nearby.
“The villages are intertwined, so we don’t feel safe because the Israelis are present there, they’re on our borders and are not very far from us,” Ezzeldine told The Associated Press, who said Zawtar al-Gharbieh is uninhabitable.
“Once the army gives us permission to enter Zawtar al-Gharbieh, we as civilians will go in, but only to check it out and see how things are and then we will leave,” he said. "We can’t stay because the infrastructure is completely damaged and houses have been leveled. They (the Israelis) have bulldozed the roads.”
Aoun met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday, who said Washington will continue to endorse the Lebanese agreement and support the agreement's full implementation. Rubio described the meeting as “very positive” and warned that Lebanon will “never be fully at peace” as long as the Hezbollah issue is not resolved.
“How do you replace Hezbollah? You defeat and replace them with a government that is strong enough to be the sole force of arms in the country,” Rubio said after the meeting. Skeptics in Lebanon fear that a military confrontation with Hezbollah could lead to a civil war, as government officials have also urged for investment into the country's battered infrastructure to empower the weakened state, which Rubio echoed.
“This is not just about military stuff," he added. "This is about how can we attract more U.S. and international investment into Lebanon.”
The Lebanese military last week increased its presence in some of the areas expected to be included in the pilot zone, including the three villages, with troops patrolling and setting up checkpoints. Though recent talks in Rome have signaled that the agreement’s implementation will begin soon, Israeli troops have not withdrawn from the areas under control.
Israeli officials, meanwhile, have said they plan to keep forces long term in a “security zone” in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah has dismissed the direct talks brokered by the United States and instead backed Washington’s talks with their key ally and patron Iran to end their war, which also includes ending the war in Lebanon as a condition to bring back calm.
Lebanon’s government came to power on a reformist platform in early 2025, vowing to disarm all non-state groups including Hezbollah. It blames Hezbollah for dragging the country into another war with Israel in March when the militant group fired several rockets toward northern Israel after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.
Beirut's leadership, however, has condemned Israel’s subsequent ground invasion and massive aerial campaign in the country, which killed over 4,000 people and displaced 1.2 million others. While grappling with stark political opposition from Hezbollah and allies within the deeply divided country, Lebanon's leadership insists that Israeli withdrawal and international financial support for Lebanon’s cash-strapped army is crucial for a sustainable security solution.
Associated Press writer Giovanna Dell'Orto in Jerusalem contributed.
Lebanese women pass by houses that were destroyed in Israeli strikes during the war with Hezbollah in Froun village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
A Lebanese army soldier stands at a checkpoint in Froun village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Lebanese army soldiers stand at a checkpoint in Froun village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
