Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson has criticised police and the Home Secretary after his name and that of Conservative figure Kemi Badenoch were allegedly found on a list at the home of the man accused of murdering Ann Widdecombe.
Senior Conservative and Reform UK figures were among more than 100 high-profile people said to be on the alleged dossier. The names were allegedly found as detectives searched Joshua Kerry's home, following the death of Ann Widdecombe in July.
Alleged list names
Reform's economic spokesman Robert Jenrick, Chairman Lee Anderson and Deputy Leader Richard Tice were on an alleged list alongside Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat, former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel and independent MP Rosie Duffield.
Mr Anderson, the Reform chairman and MP for Ashfield, said the police and Home Secretary should have told them about the alleged list. He said: "We should have been told about this straight away.
"They should have sent the police to our homes, given us advice, spoken to our families, but instead I got a phone call from Nottinghamshire Police this week informing me about it. The Metropolitan Police [which is leading the investigation] couldn't even tell me themselves.
"Instead, they got the local force to do it – which meant that when I asked questions, Notts Police had to ask the Met for the answers and get back to me. It was like Chinese whispers. I asked the Home Secretary after Ann's death whether Reform MPs were at any extra risk, and she wouldn't answer."
Terrorism charges
Kerry has also been charged with engaging in conduct in preparation of acts of terrorism, including against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Prosecutor Kashif Malik told the court that he is accused of carrying out "online reconnaissance on prominent people and institutions on various dates between May 31 2024 and July 8 2026, including identifying the home address of Nigel Farage".
It is alleged that he travelled to Mr Farage's home on April 20 last year, where his partner Laure Ferrari returned home to find damage to the front door and a bottle of lighter fluid in the porch. Mr Malik said a tool mark from a 27mm blade was found on the doorframe, and that "the inference is that an attempt was made to gain entry to the house".
Wearing a grey tracksuit, Kerry appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, speaking only to confirm his identity.
Widdecombe death
Reform UK spokeswoman and former Tory minister Miss 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.
In August, counter-terror police reopened a year-long probe into an alleged attack at Mr Farage's home in south London. The Metropolitan Police and CTP London said they investigated the incident as an "attempted burglary".
