Police seize girlfriend of Fortuyn suspect

The inquiry into the killing of the maverick Dutch far right-winger, Pim Fortuyn, took a new twist yesterday when the girlfriend of the murder suspect was arrested on suspicion of involvement in bomb making.

Petra Lievense is being held after searches of her home found chemicals and equipment that prosecutors believe could have been used for arson or to create an explosion.

Ms Lievense's boyfriend, the animal rights activist Volkert van der Graaf, was arrested shortly after the fatal shooting of Fortuyn in a car park at the media centre in Hilversum in May. He has been on hunger strike for more than two months in protest at conditions in detention, where he is under 24-hour surveillance, sparking a political debate over whether he should be force-fed if his health deteriorates.

Mr van der Graaf was involved in a radical environmental group thought to have been involved in direct action in the Netherlands. Ms Lievense is not suspected of involvement in the shooting of Fortuyn but may be accused of planning a serious offence. Prosecutors have until today to file charges or release her.