British Police Reopen Botched Probe Into 2025 Firebomb Attempt at Farage's Home

Counter-terrorism police investigating the murder of Ann Widdecombe have reopened a separate case: an April 2025 incident in which someone pushed a lit incendiary device through Nigel Farage's letterbox in south London, according to the BBC and the Telegraph.

Farage told the Telegraph in April that it was an "outright arson attempt." He wasn't home. The device burned itself out in his porch before spreading. Police at the time investigated it as an attempted burglary, made no arrests, and closed the case pending new leads, according to the Evening Standard and the Daily Echo.

That changed after Widdecombe's death. Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, said officers reopened the Farage case as part of the ongoing investigation into Widdecombe's murder, led by Counter Terrorism Policing South East. "Given the nature of this matter and the significant public interest in the investigation into Ann Widdecombe's death, it was of critical importance for us to provide this update," Evans said, according to Breitbart and the Daily Echo.

CTP London says it has now identified a line of inquiry connected to the Farage incident that "may have been relevant" but was "not identified and pursued by them at the time," according to the Guardian. That admission triggered a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct on Friday. The IOPC confirmed it will independently investigate a CTP London staff member over an allegation the individual "failed to identify and pursue a line of enquiry relating to an attempted burglary reported in April 2025." The watchdog said no further details are available at this stage.

Widdecombe, 78, a Reform UK spokeswoman and former Conservative MP for Maidstone, was found dead on July 9 at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon, having been struck with a hammer 21 times, according to a court hearing reported by the Daily Echo. Joshua Kerry, 28, of Rotherham, was charged with her murder on July 20. He was also arrested on suspicion of preparing or instigating acts of terrorism but has not been charged with that offense, according to the Guardian. A 26-year-old man initially arrested by Devon and Cornwall Police was later released and is no longer part of the investigation.

It remains unclear what connects the Farage letterbox incident to the Widdecombe case, or whether investigators believe the two are linked beyond both falling under counter-terrorism jurisdiction. None of the four reports lay out that connection explicitly. Police haven't said publicly why reviewing Widdecombe's murder led them back to a case involving a different Reform figure entirely.

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice used the reopening to argue police have been slow to take threats against Reform politicians seriously. "Only recently have the authorities woken up to the abuse and intimidation I and other Reform MPs have had, despite plenty of real examples that we have provided," Tice told the Telegraph, as reported by Breitbart. Tice said he was followed home from Parliament by an aggressive man last year and had to use a panic button. "The fact that the police have referred themselves to the IOPC speaks for itself. They recognise that they've messed up," he said.

Reform politicians have faced genuine threats. Farage has been targeted with online death threats, including one from Afghan national Fayaz Khan, who vowed to shoot him. If a legitimate lead on an arson attempt against a sitting party leader's home sat unpursued for over a year, that represents an institutional failure worth investigating.

At the same time, nothing in these reports shows the original oversight was politically motivated rather than ordinary bureaucratic failure. Missed leads happen in property-crime investigations that don't initially look terrorism-related, and the April 2025 incident was classified as attempted burglary, not attempted murder or terrorism, when it was first logged. The IOPC investigation exists specifically to determine whether the failure was negligence, incompetence, or something worse. It has not reached a conclusion.

No timeline has been given for either the IOPC's conduct investigation or the reopened Farage case. The Widdecombe murder case against Kerry is still pending, with the terrorism-related arrest unresolved. Both threads now run through the same counter-terrorism unit, and both are still open.