Philippine police arrested ex-president Gloria Arroyo at her hospital bed yesterday on charges of conspiring with a feared warlord to rig an election, an offence that could lead to life in jail.

The events capped a tumultuous week in Philippine politics that had seen the government block Mrs Arroyo, 64, from leaving the country after she arrived at Manila airport wearing a neck brace and saying she needed medical care abroad.

The decision to charge her with rigging the 2007 senatorial elections also marked the high-point in President Benigno Aquino’s campaign to hold his predecessor to account for alleged graft.

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