A public memorial for Ann Widdecombe will be held later this year, her family has announced.
The 78-year-old former Conservative minister and Reform UK spokeswoman was found dead with serious head injuries at her home in the village of Haytor, Devon, on July 9. Police are still working to establish a motive in what has been called a “complex” investigation.
Joshua Kerry, 28, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, appeared in court this week charged with her murder. Prosecutors told the court that Widdecombe had been struck 21 times with a hammer. Kerry did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody after being denied bail.
Widdecombe’s family said in a statement that a private service for close friends and family is to be held in addition to a public memorial planned for later in the year.
“We understand that there is significant public interest in the funeral of Ann Widdecombe,” they said.
“A private service for family and close friends will be held in the coming weeks, and invitations for this ceremony have been distributed.
“A more public memorial will follow later in the year, the details of which will be released in due course.
“While we are very grateful for the wide expression of condolences, the family would ask that this initial service is limited to those closest to Ann.”
No date or venue has yet been confirmed for the public memorial.
Widdecombe, who was a devout Catholic, was first elected as Conservative MP for Maidstone in 1987 and went on to serve as prisons minister in the 1990s.
She later became an MEP for the Brexit Party and, at the time of her death, was Reform UK’s spokeswoman on immigration and justice.
She was an outspoken advocate of the right to life, religious liberty, and free speech, memorably telling Oxford students that no one had the right to not be offended.
Despite holding opinions unlikely to curry much favour with large parts of the population, she gained a legion of fans after appearing on Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.