Around 100 family members, friends and colleagues have attended the funeral service of former conservative minister Ann Widdecombe in the United Kingdom.
Politicians and broadcasters were among those who gathered at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, a Catholic abbey where she regularly worshipped and called her "safe haven."
Mourners 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 lawmaker, who later became a spokeswoman for the right-wing populist Reform UK party.
Ahead of the service, which lasted around 90 minutes, police officers, including sniffer dogs, could be seen searching the grounds.
Widdecombe, 78, died on July 8 after she was hit over the head with a hammer 21 times at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon.
Joshua Kerry, 28, of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was charged with her murder on July 20.
It is understood that Reform's leader Nigel Farage did not attend the event.
Farage was campaigning in Clacton on Wednesday and did not wish to draw attention at Widdecombe's funeral, which the family asked to be kept private.
However, he is expected to attend a public memorial for Widdecombe, which will be held later this year.
In a post on X, Farage described her as an "extraordinary woman who left a serious mark on British politics."
Those to attend include the shadow chancellor Mel Stride, Conservative former justice minister Crispin Blunt and broadcaster Iain Dale.
In a post on LBC's website on Wednesday, Dale paid tribute to his friend and said he hopes to meet her in heaven one day.
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."
"Here we pray that she has finally been enfolded in the arms of the Risen Lord, where true love and peace reign, and where she will hear the Lord's words, 'well done, my good and faithful servant'."
