Farage ‘not listened to’ over safety worries, Tice says after terror plot charge

Nigel Farage has “not been listened to” over his safety concerns, Richard Tice has said after the man accused of murdering Ann Widdecombe was also charged with a terror plot against the Reform leader.

Joshua Kerry, 28, has been charged with one count of preparation of terrorist acts relating to alleged activity between May 31 2024 and July 8 2026, Counter Terrorism Policing said on Friday.

Mr Tice, Reform UK’s deputy leader, said the allegations were “particularly upsetting for those of us in and around (Mr Farage)”, and would make politicians take potential threats against them more seriously.

Reform spokeswoman and former Tory minister Ms Widdecombe, 78, died on July 8 after she was hit over the head with a hammer 21 times at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon, a court previously heard.

Kerry, of Byrley Road, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, is also accused of her murder, and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Joshua Kerry, 28 (PA)

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Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Tice said: “When actually things occur that are very close to home, so to speak it’s pretty shocking and makes one take a a big intake of breath.”

He continued: “(Mr Farage’s) security and the risks to it, he’s talked about over over many times, many occasions, over many years.

“And I think what’s particularly upsetting for those of us in and around him is sometimes he’s not being believed, not being listened to, and you know we have just got in a sense deep regret over everything that’s happened over a long period of time.”

Asked if Mr Farage had met with the Home Office to discuss his security, Mr Tice said: “A number of meetings have taken place with a number of people at the higher level of Reform.

“The information and intel I now get about the threats in and around myself and others is a very significant shift in the approach taken by the authorities, and we appreciate that.”

In August, CTP reopened a year-long probe into an alleged firebomb attack at Mr Farage’s home in south London.

Ann Widdecombe speaking during a Reform rally (Lucy North/PA)

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The Metropolitan Police and CTP London said they investigated the incident as an “attemptReformed burglary”, but made no arrests before the case was closed pending any new lines of inquiry.

Following its reopening, CTP London identified a line of inquiry which it said “may have been relevant” but had not been “identified and pursued by them at the time”.

The police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), previously said they were investigating the “conduct” of a CTP London staff member after an allegation that the employee “failed to identify and pursue a line of inquiry”.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said her “profound sympathies” are with Mr Farage and his family, and said the development “raises serious questions about the security of those in public life”.

She said she will update MPs on work to strengthen protections for them when Parliament returns later this month.