UK police launch murder investigation into death of former minister Ann Widdecombe

LONDON: British police said they had launched a murder investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe, a 78-year-old former government minister whose death was announced earlier on Friday.

Widdecombe was a Conservative member of parliament between 1987 and 2010, and held several junior ministerial positions in former prime minister John Major's government.

"Our murder enquiry is in its early stages but moving at a significant pace," Devon ‌and Cornwall Police ‌said in a statement.

"We are deploying all of ​the ‌necessary ⁠resources to ​find ⁠out exactly what has happened and to locate the person responsible who we believe to be a white male."