A transgender former Labour candidate has been charged over online posts in which he says he hopes Ann Widdecombe had an “extremely painful death”. The Mail has more.
The former Tory minister and TV star, 78, was found dead at her cottage in Haytor, Devon, last Thursday after sustaining serious injuries.
Only hours after Widdecombe’s death was announced, a post appeared on trans rights activist Heather Herbert’s social media.
Writing on Bluesky, he said: “And some good news for once. I hope it was an extremely painful death.”
In another post, Herbert said: “And I hope she was handcuffed to the bed as she screamed in agony.”
The posts were published before detectives announced they were treating Widdecombe’s death as murder.
Police Scotland initially said the information had been assessed and “no criminality” had been established.
However, in an update on Tuesday, a spokesman for the force said: “We received reports on Saturday July 11th 2026 relating to a post made online.
“Following further assessment, additional enquiries are being carried out.”
Herbert, 50, has since been arrested and charged, and a report is due to be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. …
His employer, Aberdeen University, where Herbert works as a web developer, has also launched an investigation into the comments.
Aberdeen University Principal and Vice Chancellor, Professor Peter Edwards, said earlier this week the university has a zero-tolerance approach to “violence or hateful behaviour”, and gave his assurance the comments were being investigated “as a priority”.
The Scottish Greens have additionally launched a probe into the comments. Herbert joined the Scottish Greens in late 2021 after previously being a member of Scottish Labour.
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Charged for writing feelings and beliefs that are in poor taste in the extreme but this unjust waste of police time makes a mockery of the best of Britain’s former classically liberal culture.
Be afraid, be very afraid!
There is something horribly wrong about charging some bloke over nasty remarks about someone who would never have considered such a charge justified. Clearly this wasn’t “violence” (and given the grammar of the remark couldn’t be considered an incitement to violence – “I hope that something happened) and although the sentiment was certainly motivated by hate, the actual purported crime is at best doubtful.
What a lovely tranny – a credit to its kind
Funny how blue sky never gets a mention in all the “social media bad” reports. At a minimum, this gentleman would have lost his job. That’s all. Hurty words are just that. Unpleasant words, same. I would imagine Ann W faced much worse than this when alive, shrugged and continued to fight for free speech. A woman with integrity, intelligence and a moral compass, who knew right from wrong. Britain lost a real hero.
If this specimen was a member of Restore or Reform and he had made a similar remark about a lefty he would have been sacked by now.
He’s a very ugly woman.
No, he’s a very ugly man.
Claims to be a woman, but attacks like a man.
revolting specimen
I don’t agree with involving the police even over a vile tweet like this one but we didn’t make the rules
I’m more than happy for him to say what he wants about pretty much anything. As long as he doesn’t get shitty if people respond in kind.
But I know it doesn’t work like that, ‘cos he’s one of the many protected species.
That is right. If someone ‘misgenders’ him he will be screaming about hate speech and bigots so it is only fair to apply the same standards to his comments about Ann Widdecombe. Since it is impossible to reason with someone like this maybe he will get the message when he is arrested for ‘hate speech’. I wouldn’t hold my breath though. There is always some rationale which makes right wing ‘hate speech’ bigoted violence and left wing ‘hate speech’ perfectly moral and reasonable
“Writing on Bluesky, he said: “And some good news for once. I hope it was an extremely painful death.”
In another post, Herbert said: “And I hope she was handcuffed to the bed as she screamed in agony.””
Most people on hearing of a 78 yr old woman’s death would think : heart attack.
His comments were made BEFORE it was announced she had been beaten to death.
Did he know this was going to happen?
This is maybe why he was arrested.
I can’t find any reference to what he’s actually been charged with. Anyone know?
So there maybe more to this?
It doesn’t matter what the actual charge is. It is all about badly interpreting a bad law to get the desired result.
Unless of course he knew it was going to happen via membership of some organisation like “Bash Back”?
How strange! It’s usually the left that are hateful and prejudiced. Yet they are convinced that they are morally superior.
Mental derangement for all to see.
Interesting the mail are calling him him.
Indeed. They normally fall into line with the woke pronoun bollocks.
They did in their earlier reporting of the case. Perhaps they’ve seen the light!
No, they’ve just taken their cue from the police prosecuting him rather than defending him.
Aberdeen University rightly decries violence, but this person’s words were not violence. Also ‘hateful behaviour’ which is a bit more tricky to define. Either way, the police should not be involved, but anyone tweeting (or whatever one does on Bluesky) needs to be aware that the regime can lock you up for statements it disapproves of.
I do not think he should face criminal prosecution. He should be fired for bringing his employer into disrepute. While they have not (so far as I know) endorsed his views about Ann Widdecombe his continued employment there would lead any reasonable person to think the University was content to have utter scumbags work (?) there.
what a nasty person he is. I am not surprised the Labour Party selected him as a candidate; their sort of person really.
Of course it’s different either way Reform. If any candidate is found to have posted even slightly racy comments many years ago they and the party will be pilloried by the media.
I’m not even sure it should be fired. In a functioning society that sort of comment would be organically policed – probably by someone giving the thing a good slap and society shunning the creature – that threat used to be enough to persuade most people not to say outrageously cruel things. But we don’t live in a functioning society, hence why I’m not sure. How to discourage cruel and unhinged people saying cruel and unhinged things without there being a penalty? I think, and I’m very much thinking aloud here, that I’d still let it keep its job and let karma decide.
You’d think differently if people started to boycott your company over his presence there.
But that’s how it works now, right? That’s exactly what the left has created – an environment that inhibits speech (almost entirely right of centre speech) through threats of personal loss. Is that really what we want? I certainly don’t, and I don’t think we should embrace the lefts strategies because, on this occasion, it suits us – that’s hypocritical. At some point shouldn’t the adults stand up?
I’m very torn on this one. I am a director of an SME and would certainly not be thinking of firing any of our staff for expressing private views. The default should be for the firm to say to their customers, if asked, that the firm is there to provide goods and services, not to express views on topical matters, and that private speech by employees is nothing to do with them. But if it’s hurting your business, which hurts you, your customers, your employees and your shareholders, it’s a tricky one. I guess it depends what the financial damage is and how much leverage you have. It would be nice for someone to take a stand – after the initial “bad” publicity, people would get bored and it would blow over, most likely.
I’m not criticising your position, but would note that its entirely because of individuals and bodies caving into activist pressure that we have a collapsing society. The Long March through the Institutions proceeds one capitulation at a time.
As I said, I am torn. I would like to think that put in this position I would stand firm, and that our CEO would. He’s quite disagreeable which is useful and we are employee owned which gives us more autonomy.
I was going to reply to ToF but you have aired my own thoughts precisely.
Tricky one ToF.
Very much a matter of disrepute, then.
He’s a former Labour candidate. Has he been kicked out for bringing the Party into disrepute?
I suppose the question is whether he was clearly posting the comments in his person capacity, or whether he could be seen to be representing the views of the University or the Green Party. If it’s the latter, then they should have no qualms about getting rid of him, and the University should really have a clause about this in his employment contract.
If he’s a representative in some way of a political party then yes his public statements on political matters are arguably fair game for that party to sanction him for. But how can or why should a University have a view on a political matter and what does that even mean. It’s an education institution. Public statements directly related to the provision of education might be relevant, for example if an employee posted statements to the effect of education is crap or we are crap or our customers are idiots, but this has nothing to do with any of that.
He should only be fired if his employer believes he has brought them into disrepute. Of course, if they do not fire him that also may damage their reputation – which is very much the essence of disrepute.
Choices, choices. Perhaps the good folk on Bluesky could recommend a course of action?
Given Widdecombe’s very strongly held traditional family values I fully understand why this bloke and others like him hate her as much as I hate Starmer. Let’s face it, how many people who comment here wouldn’t at least think something similar if it’s announced Starmer (or another person they hate) has been murdered.
As the saying goes “You shouldn’t speak ill of the dead”. Does this mean never again, at least wait until they’re in the ground or some other period of time?
“how many people who comment here wouldn’t at least think something similar if it’s announced Starmer…had been murdered”
Well, I certainly wouldn’t. I detest the man and wouldn’t mourn his death, but I definitely would not rejoice in it, as some on the Left have done after Miss Widdecombe’s murder.
“ I detest the man and wouldn’t mourn his death “ is a very good way of putting it. This is exactly how I feel about the lying warmonger Blair. It seems to be characteristic of the Left to behave appallingly following the death of someone who doesn’t share their views – remembering “ ding dong, the witch is dead “ following Mrs Thatcher’s death.
Yes Ann was a very principled, forthright woman who was unapologetic when it came to expressing her opinions, such was her belief in the importance of exercising one’s fundamental right to freedom of speech. But we know the reaction women like her typically get from certain individuals, don’t we? People who can’t seem to handle those with a different worldview to them and react in an unhinged, irrational and aggressive manner.
So was this Joshua Kerry some sort of introverted, dysfunctional incel? Was he a closet homosexual? Or was he just your bog standard nutjob hard Leftard, who just happened to flip one day and decide to kill someone…who happened to live 300 miles away?
Whatever his motive for killing Ann it seems pretty self-evident to me that he went after her specifically because she was female, an elderly 78yrs old and she lived alone, therefore, he’d be more likely to successfully achieve his objective than if he’d targeted many of the other Reformers: men, younger and/or lived with family.
It’s been reported that the police found pro-Russian propaganda and communist literature at his home and the murder is now being investigated by counter terrorism police.
Hard lefthard nut job would seem to be the case, no doubt your right about why he murdered Widdecombe rather than going after a different prominent Reformer.
I also have communist literature at my home. Know your enemy.
Obnoxious comments, by a ridiculous and disgusting person, but not a matter for the plod.
Free speech…for all, including vile leftards.
I agree.
Yes, the comments of this weirdo are abhorrent and disgusting although they also provide excellent insight into his personality.
But we can’t be selective about free speech and demand that we can express an opinion without fear but people we dislike can’t.
And in any case, does he need any punishment? Being psychologically damaged to that level must be hell.
I agree almost completely with you. It utterly sticks in my craw to speak in defence of such a loathsome creature. In reality it’s not this excuse of a human being I’m defending, rather his right to free speech, even offensive free speech.
Now that this side of him has now been made very public, I hope he gets completely shunned by every decent person who knows him.
I have to say, though, that were I his employer I would be sacking him. Not for exercising his right to free speech, but because his appalling inhumanity will have brought my company into disrepute.
He works at a university, I imagine it will already have brought itself into disrepute already.
I wonder if more comments have come to light which could be classed as incitement. The article is a bit vague but it seems initially Plod said “nothing to see, move along” but then changed its mind.
I agree but whilst we have these draconian laws on the books ‘I really don’t care’ to paraphrase another banged up for sod all, if an ideological enemy gets caught up in the operation to stop the natives getting upset about Ann Widdecombe’s murder.
This is quite wrong because saying nasty things about the dead can’t possibly be a crime in our free-speech paradise of a country.
How is it a crime to hope someone’s death was painful?
Suppose we’d better keep schtum if this loathsome bloke meets an early end.
Perhaps this sack of shit had foreknowledge of the event?
Short clip of Connie Shaw talking sense here;
”The Free Speech Union has said that, should Heather Herbert join the Free Speech Union, we would do our best to help him. Heather Herbert posted a vile and deeply offensive statement on the social media platform BlueSky about the tragic murder of Ann Widdecombe. The University of Aberdeen employee has now been arrested and charged over his offensive comments.
While the Free Speech Union does not support Heather’s offensive comments about Ann — a dear late friend of the FSU — it is not an offence, no matter how offensive, to speak ill of the dead. Ann was a staunch defender of our fundamental right to free speech, and we very much doubt she would have supported Police Scotland’s actions. Police Scotland has a poor record when it comes to recognising citizens’ rights to free speech. If Heather has been charged with a speech offence, the Free Speech Union is here to help.”
https://x.com/SpeechUnion/status/2078087560920752456
Well done DS for referring to this specimen as “he”, unlike the DM.
I’m a day late, as I was too busy yesterday to read the DS. I came here to say the same thing.