CAMERA IN HOME CAPTURED INCIDENT
Prosecutor Kashif Malik earlier said a camera inside Widdecombe‘s home had captured the attack.
Widdecombe had been due to be interviewed live on television on Jul 8 from her home but did not appear, Malik explained. The following day, her personal assistant asked her gardener to check on Widdecombe, and he found her on the kitchen floor.
Malik told the court that the recovered footage showed Kerry entering Widdecombe‘s home while she was eating lunch and asking: “Don’t suppose you have bank cards and ID?”
Kerry, who was wearing black gloves and holding a hammer to his side so it was hidden from Widdecombe‘s view, then struck her 21 times, Malik said.
He added that Kerry had tipped Widdecombe out of her chair onto the floor before taking her wallet and leaving, having been in the property for approximately two minutes.
Widdecombe was known for her socially conservative views, first as a junior minister in Conservative Prime Minister John Major’s 1992-1997 government and later as an immigration and justice spokesperson for Reform UK.
After stepping down from parliament in 2010, she appeared in a number of reality TV shows, including Strictly Come Dancing.