Police previously arrested, then later released, a 26-year-old man in relation to the alleged murder, after Ann Widdecombe's body was found in her residence on Thursday.

Officers found the former Conservative prisons minister with 'serious injuries' after an ambulance crew called them to her house in Haytor, Dartmoor at 11.40am yesterday.

Ann Widdecombe, a 78-year-old former Tory MP turned Reform UK spokeswoman, was found dead in her home with serious injuries, police said.