Mourners to pay their respects to 'murdered' ex-Tory minister Ann Widdecombe as she is laid to rest today near Devon home

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 05:17 EDT, 12 August 2026 | Updated: 05:44 EDT, 12 August 2026 Mourners are to pay their respects to ex-Tory minister Ann Widdecombe as she is laid to rest today near her Devon home. Her funeral service is taking place later at the Catholic abbey where she regularly worshipped.A private requiem mass will be held for the former MP, who later became a Reform UK spokeswoman, at Buckfast Abbey in Devon.It will include a homily from the Rt Rev David Charlesworth, Abbot of Buckfast. The 78-year-old was a frequent worshipper in the Abbey Church.She died on July 8 after she was hit over the head with a hammer 21 times at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon, while eating her lunch.Joshua Kerry, 28, of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was charged with her murder on July 20.A statement from the abbey said Miss Widdecombe would be 'missed and fondly remembered' and 'many in our worshipping community knew her as a kind and warm character'. Mourners are to pay their respects to ex-Tory minister Ann Widdecombe as she is laid to rest today near her Devon home A requiem mass will be held for the former MP, who later became a Reform UK spokeswoman, at Buckfast Abbey in Devon (pictured) Police officers in the grounds of Buckfast Abbey in Buckfastleigh, Devon, ahead of the funeral of Miss Widdecombe'Ann was a woman of profound faith, a faith which found expression in the public forum of politics,' the statement said.'Ann was unafraid to express her unwavering convictions, formed through her Roman Catholic faith. She had a sharp intellect and was a dedicated public servant.'A statement issued by her family last month confirmed that a public memorial will follow later in the year.'While we are very grateful for the wide expression of condolences, the family would ask that this initial service is limited to those closest to Ann,' it read.The order of service for the requiem mass shows tributes will be paid by the Rev Roger Widdecombe, Miss Widdecombe's nephew, and Sir Christian Sweeting, a close friend.It states that donations made in memory of Miss Widdecombe will be divided between the Leprosy Mission and Abound, supporting the projects of the Christian Endeavour Hostel (CEH) in India.Miss Widdecombe was first elected as a Conservative MP in Kent in 1987, was a prisons minister in the 1990s and later became an MEP for the Brexit Party.At the time of her death she was a spokeswoman on immigration and justice for Reform UK.She also found fame outside politics on Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother. A police officer looks down a drain during a security search in the grounds of Buckfast Abbey Police officers outside the house of Miss Widdecombe in Haytor on July 11, 2026 Miss Widdecombe was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon, on July 9Counter-terror police investigating Miss Widdecombe's death announced last week it had reopened a probe into a firebombing incident at Nigel Farage's home. Police said they had 'identified a line of inquiry' about the attack which was 'not identified and pursued... at the time'.Mr Farage has described the incident in April 2025 as an 'outright arson attempt' rather than the 'attempted burglary' described by police. He was not home at the time and found the damage when he returned. 'Luckily it had burned itself out on the porch,' he said.Devon and Cornwall Police has faced criticism for prematurely announcing there was 'nothing to suggest' that the killing of Miss Widdecombe was politically motivated – only for counter-terrorism officers to take over the case days later after new evidence emerged.