THE FARAGE-WIDDECOMBE CONNECTION: This Story Just Got Much Bigger
The David Vance BriefingRead More
As if the brutal murder of Ann Widdecombe was not already an extraordinary story, along comes breaking news which makes things seem more sinister, if that is possible!
Reform Leader Nigel Farage has now publicly revealed that an incident at his home back in April 2025 is “directly linked” to the investigation into Ann’s murder.
“Clearly, counter-terrorism made some mistakes, which is why they referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. I understand this is a completely unprecedented move, and yes, this is directly linked to the murder of Ann Widdecombe, and I’m afraid I just can’t tell you any more than that at this stage.”
Not adjacent, directly linked.
Up until this point we understood that the counter-terrorism officers investigating Ann’s death had reopened enquiries into the earlier incident at Farage’s property. I wrote about it here. It seemed to me at that time that the police had apparently discovered a specific line of enquiry which had not been properly pursued at the time. That’s significant in itself BUT Farage has now gone further.
He is quoted as saying that he has been told there is a direct connection to Ann’s murder!
WHAT HAPPENED AT FARAGE’S HOME?
Let’s go back to April of last year when an incident occurred at Farage’s home involving what he describes as “a lit incendiary device” being pushed through his letterbox. Sounds a bit like some sort of firebomb. Now you might think that an alleged incendiary attack on the home of one of Britain’s most prominent politicians would immediately have set alarm bells ringing.
Guess what, apparently not! Nigel himself ponders that oddity.
It seems that the incident was investigated purely as a bog-standard attempted burglary. We know that nobody was arrested and the investigation was eventually closed down.
Then Ann Widdecombe was murdered.
The things we know for certain are that Ann was found dead at her Devon home in July and a 28-year-old man, Joshua Kerry, has subsequently been charged with her murder. Just to amplify that a little, it’s worth pointing out that Kerry has also been arrested under terrorism legislation, although it is important to stress that he has not been charged with a terrorism offence.
It was during the investigation into Ann’s death that detectives returned to the Farage incident and police are now reportedly examining whether Kerry may have had some connection with what happened at Farage’s property. This doesn’t mean that he did. Remember there has been no conviction, or indeed charge, relating to the Farage incident and I want to be extremely careful about turning suspicion into established fact
But at the same time, we shouldn’t pretend this isn’t potentially enormous.
Now the pieces are coming together
Here’s the sequence that we now know.
An alleged incendiary device was pushed through the letterbox of the home of the Reform UK leader. That investigation went nowhere. Months later another very prominent figure associated with Reform is murdered in her own home and a man is charged with that murder.
Once the counter-terrorism police became involved, investigators subsequently returned to the earlier incident at Farage’s home.
A few serious questions come to mind.
What did the police miss?
The first is obvious.
Why wasn’t the Farage incident taken more seriously in the first place?
How does something Farage describes as an incendiary device being pushed through his letterbox end up being treated as attempted burglary? Burglars don’t tend to burn down the houses they target! It makes little sense to me that this could be seen as a standard burglary but maybe there is a perfectly reasonable explanation?
If so, let’s hear it.
But the fact that the earlier investigation is now being revisited suggests the original handling deserves scrutiny.
Indeed, the Independent Office for Police Conduct has already become involved after Counter Terrorism Policing identified a line of enquiry from the original investigation which had apparently not been pursued.
That matters.
Because if — and I emphasise if — investigators eventually establish a meaningful connection between these events, the issue becomes much bigger than the identity and motivation of one alleged offender.
It raises the question of whether warning signs were missed.
And inevitably there is another uncomfortable issue.
Would an alleged incendiary attack against the home of a politician from one of the established parties have been treated in exactly the same way?
I don’t know the answer. But I think it’s a reasonable question to ask.
Farage is one of the most recognisable and controversial politicians in Britain. Whatever anyone thinks of him or his politics, an alleged attack on his home should surely be treated with the utmost seriousness. This does not seem to have happened and that’s a real worry. There are some dangerous, unhinged people out there after all.
Political violence does not become more acceptable because you happen to dislike the politics of the intended victim.
There is still an enormous amount that we don’t know.
We don’t know whether Ann’s murder was politically motivated. We don’t know the motive behind the Farage incident. And we don’t know what connection, if any, investigators will ultimately establish between them.
All of these questions should be pursued by the counter terrorism police.
Let’s not kid ourselves, though, something has unquestionably changed here and I pick up the unease many Brits feel about this. I know I am not alone because I read all your comments.
What seemed to be the brutal murder of one prominent political figure has now led counter-terrorism investigators back to an alleged attack on the home of another. And Nigel Farage says the connection is direct. That makes this a very different story.
And I suspect there is considerably more still to emerge.
Please take a moment to support my work
I publish regular political analysis, overlooked history, book reviews and original commentary that you won’t find in the mainstream media.
Free subscribers receive every article I publish.
Paid subscribers receive everything above, plus The Saturday Briefing — my exclusive weekly analysis launching this September. Each edition will pull together the week’s most important political developments, highlight stories the mainstream media has ignored, and explain what they really mean.
If you value independent journalism and want to help support my work, I’d be delighted to have you on board.
