Massive security sweep at Buckfast Abbey as 100 mourners attend funeral of slain ex-minister Ann Widdecombe
Under heavy armed police guard, family, friends, and senior political figures gathered at Buckfast Abbey in Devon to bid a final farewell to former minister Ann Widdecombe. The seventy-eight-year-old veteran politician was brutally murdered inside her Dartmoor home in a targeted assault that has sent shockwaves through the nation. Around one hundred mourners dressed in black filled the abbey for a solemn ninety-minute Catholic requiem mass to pay their respects to the dedicated public servant.
Notable attendees included Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride, former justice minister Crispin Blunt, and broadcaster Iain Dale. Prior to the service, counter-terrorism officers and specialized canine units conducted extensive security sweeps of the abbey grounds, searching drains, plant pots, and perimeter lines to ensure total safety. Speakers inside the abbey reflected on Miss Widdecombe’s fierce convictions, sharp intellect, and lifelong devotion to public life.
The former Conservative MP was discovered unresponsive with severe injuries at her home on July 9 after failing to appear for a scheduled broadcast interview. An inquest opening revealed that an employee entered her bungalow to check on her welfare, finding her with visible trauma. A provisional cause of death was confirmed as blunt force trauma to the head, with detectives establishing that she was attacked shortly after completing two media appearances the previous morning.
Twenty-eight-year-old Joshua Kerry was apprehended three hundred miles away in Rotherham two days later and charged with her murder. Prosecutors at the Old Bailey outlined that Kerry allegedly launched a planned, targeted assault executed with extreme ferocity. Counter-terrorism detectives took over the murder investigation following growing concerns surrounding the political targeting of high-profile public figures.
The murder inquiry has triggered a major operational scandal, forcing counter-terror police to formally reopen an investigation into a lit incendiary device pushed through the letterbox of a home linked to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage in 2025. Officers admitted that a vital line of inquiry had been overlooked during the initial burglary probe. The Independent Office for Police Conduct has launched a formal investigation into police handling of the previous threat.
Ann Widdecombe served as an MP for Maidstone between 1987 and 2010, holding key ministerial roles before transitioning into a popular television personality and later a central spokeswoman for Reform UK. While her family requested a private funeral service, party colleagues confirmed that a national public memorial celebrating her political legacy will be held later this year.
