Heather Herbert, a transgender former Labour candidate, has been charged with offenses related to online posts made after the death of Ann Widdecombe. Widdecombe, a former Conservative minister and television personality, was found dead at her home in Dartmoor on Thursday, July 9, 2026, with injuries that led police to treat her death as murder.
Herbert, 50, a web developer at Aberdeen University, posted remarks on the social media platform Bluesky. In one post, she stated, "And some good news for once. I hope it was an extremely painful death." Another post read, "And I hope she was handcuffed to the bed as she screamed in agony." These comments were published before police officially announced they were investigating Widdecombe's death as a murder.
Initially, Police Scotland indicated that no criminality had been established after assessing reports of the online posts. However, on Tuesday, July 14, a spokesperson for the force confirmed that following further assessment and inquiries, a 50-year-old individual had been arrested and charged. A report is being submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.
Aberdeen University has launched its own investigation into the comments, with Principal and Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Edwards stating that the university has a zero-tolerance policy for "violence or hateful behaviour." The Scottish Greens, a party Herbert joined in late 2021 after a prior membership with Scottish Labour, have also initiated a probe into the remarks.
Meanwhile, specialist officers from Counter Terrorism Policing are continuing their investigation into Widdecombe's death. A 28-year-old man from Rotherham was arrested on suspicion of murder on Saturday, July 11, and subsequently re-arrested on suspicion of engaging in an act of terrorism. Laurence Taylor, who is leading the investigation, described Widdecombe as the victim of a "targeted attack" and stated that investigators are examining the motivation behind her death.