Police are investigating the death of former British MP and minister Ann Widdecombe.

The former Conservative Party prisons minister, who was 78, later became a Brexit Party MEP and subsequently a Reform UK spokeswoman.

She also found fame outside politics after starring in Strictly Come Dancing.

Devon and Cornwall Police are expected to issue an update on her death later on Friday afternoon.

A spokesman for the coroner’s office for the county of Devon, Plymouth and Torbay said: “Preliminary inquiries are ongoing.”

Ms Widdecombe, who appeared on Talk radio on Wednesday, lived in Haytor, near Newton Abbott in Devon.