Woman held after ex-lover dies 'in double cyanide poisoning'

Another man was also being questioned today by murder squad detectives over the alleged poisoning, which police fear could have involved cyanide.

The couple, Lakhvinder Cheema, 39, and Gurjeeta Kaur, 21, were admitted to the West Middlesex Hospital in the early hours of yesterday. Both had become seriously ill after eating food at home in Feltham.

Mr Cheema was pronounced dead at 2.36am, shortly after he was admitted. Ms Kaur was described today as critical. Police were called in after the hospital became suspicious about the nature of their illness.

They say they are treating the death as "highly suspicious" and a post mortem examination on Mr Cheema will be carried out today. Officers also removed samples of food from the home to test.

A Yard spokesman said: "The suggestion that the victims might have been poisoned is one of the lines of inquiry that we are currently pursuing."

Scotland Yard confirmed that a woman in her forties, named locally as Lakhver Kaur, had been arrested and was being questioned today by detectives. A second man, who has not been named but was said to be in his fifties, was arrested by police in Windsor today.

Neighbours said Mr Cheema had recently separated from Lakhver and proposed to Gurjeeta.

A friend of Mr Cheema said he had been in hospital over the last couple of weeks suffering from stomach trouble. Susan Newman, 57, a neighbour, said: "I had not seen him since around Christmas time. He was perfectly fit and healthy then."

"About five or six months ago I was introduced to Lakhvinder's girlfriend and she was absolutely beautiful."

Mr Cheema lived in his four-bedroom home with two lodgers and had been separated from his girlfriend for some time. He had been renovating the house, said neighbours, and looking forward to his future with his fiancée.

He worked for cleaning firm Rentokil-Initial. Detectives have taken away his work materials to see whether poisons among them had been used.