Ann Widdecombe's loved ones gather for her funeral

About 100 family, friends and colleagues have attended the funeral of former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe.

Mourners gathered at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, a Catholic abbey at which she regularly worshipped and called her "safe haven".

Widdecombe died on 8 July aged 78 and was found with serious head injuries at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor.

Those attending could be seen wearing black as they arrived at the requiem mass – a Catholic service where prayers are offered for the soul of the dead – for the former MP, who later became a Reform UK spokeswoman.

Police officers and sniffer dogs were in the grounds of the abbey ahead of the service, which lasted about 90 minutes.

The private requiem mass included a homily from the Rt Rev David Charlesworth, Abbot of Buckfast.

He said: "In the midst of the shock, clamour and sometimes unwarranted comment surrounding her death, our response is to pray for the repose of her soul, to give thanks for her fortitude, and offer Holy Mass in this Abbey Church which Ann called her safe haven."

A statement from the Abbey Church earlier said Widdecombe would be "missed and fondly remembered" and "many in our worshipping community knew her as a kind and warm character".