The Conservative MP, Mr Michael Colvin (67), and his wife, Nichola (62), were missing presumed dead yesterday after a huge fire turned their home near Andover, Hampshire, into a "blowtorch". Rachel Donnelly reports.
The emergency services were called to the 1,000-acre Tangley House estate at about 4 a.m. when an estate worker saw smoke and flames inside the house. It took 70 firefighters four hours to put out the fire, but the MP and his wife could not be found.
While awaiting official confirmation, the Conservative Party leader, Mr William Hague, paid tribute to the Colvins, describing Mr Colvin as a "true" Tory.
Mr Colvin was first elected to parliament in 1979 when he won the Bristol North West seat from Labour, but was never singled out for high office by the former prime minister, Baroness Thatcher.
He served as vice-chairman of the Defence Select Committee and the Conservative Parliamentary Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Committee. He was a member of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body, which held its 10th anniversary meeting in London last week.