Read our Privacy noticeFigures from politics and the media attended the funeral service of former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe. Family, friends and colleagues assembled at Buckfast Abbey in Devon before 2pm, a Catholic abbey where she regularly worshipped. The order of service for the requiem mass showed tributes were paid by the Rev Roger Widdecombe, Miss Widdecombe’s nephew, and Sir Christian Sweeting, a close friend. Miss Widdecombe, 78, died on 8 July after she was hit over the head with a hammer 21 times at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon. The private requiem mass included a homily from the Rt Rev David Charlesworth, Abbot of Buckfast.