Police ‘probing whether Widdecombe suspect linked to arson attack on Farage’

Police ‘probing whether Widdecombe suspect linked to arson attack on Farage’ The Reform leader used a press conference on Monday to claim that a previous fire-bombing attack on his house is ‘directly linked to the murder of Ann Widdecombe’ - Bookmark The police are said to be investigating whether the man charged with the murder of Ann Widdecombe is linked to an incident which saw a “lit incendiary device” posted through Nigel Farage’s letterbox last year. Officers said the occurrence took place at an address in Greater London and was reported in April 2025. The Metropolitan Police and Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London said they investigated an “attempted burglary” at the time, but no arrests were made and the case was closed pending any new lines of inquiry. Mr Farage, who was not home at the time of the alleged attack and found the damage when he returned home, earlier described it as an “outright arson attempt”. “Luckily it had burned itself out on the porch,” he told The Telegraph in April this year. But CTP London has now reopened its probe, saying it had identified a line of inquiry “which may have been relevant” but was “not identified and pursued by them at the time”. The police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), is now investigating the “conduct” of a CTP London staff member, following an allegation that the employee “failed to identify and pursue a line of inquiry” related to the attempted burglary. The Reform leader used a press conference on Monday to claim that a previous fire-bombing attack on his house is “directly linked to the murder of Ann Widdecombe”. “I’m afraid I just can’t tell you any more than that at this stage,” he added, saying the decision to re-open the investigation was “completely unprecedented”. Mr Farage said that he believes the police had “made some mistakes” in the case but insisted he still has confidence in them. He added: “It’s a great, great tragedy that it took the death of Ann for the security services in Britain to finally take seriously the safety and security of Reform politicians and Reform prominent figures. “Up until that moment, we had been treated very differently to everybody else.” It comes after 28-year-old Joshua Kerry was charged last month with the murder of Ms Widdecombe, who was killed in her home in Devon last month. Kerry was initially arrested on suspicion of murder on 11 July, before being additionally arrested on 13 July on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. Sources have said the police are now probing whether there is a connection between Kerry and the incident at Mr Farage’s house. The Independent understands that Mr Farage is “horrified” that the attack on his home in 2025 is being reinvestigated by detectives investigating Ms Widdecombe’s murder. A source said: “There has been a very serious policing error which is why [CTP] have referred themselves to IOPC, which is unprecedented.” Reform UK spokesperson and former Tory minister Ms Widdecombe died on 8 July after she was hit over the head with a hammer 21 times at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon, a court heard. Kerry, 28, was charged with her murder on 20 July. He has not yet entered a plea and has been remanded in custody until his next court appearance. The Met Police and the IOPC have been contacted for comment.