A BRITISH diplomat who was murdered in Beirut was a former student of Malvern Girls' College.

Rebecca Dykes's body was found on the side of a motorway in the Lebanese city on Saturday.

A man has been arrested and has since confessed to her killing, a source revealed today.

According to the Guardian, the arrested man is a taxi driver for Uber, named as Tariq H.

She had been strangled, the BBC was told by police sources.

Her family said in a statement: "We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. We are doing all we can to understand what happened.

"We request that the media respect our privacy."

Ms Dykes was at the Malvern school, the predecessor of Malvern St James, for several years before she left in 2000.

It is thought she subsequently attended sixth form at another school.

Today, a Malvern St James spokesman said the school would not be issuing a statement. 

Ms Dykes, aged30, had been working in Beirut as the programme and policy manager for the Department for International Development since January 2017.

A DFID spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Becky’s family and friends at this very upsetting time. There is now a police investigation and the Foreign Office is providing consular support to Becky’s family and working with the local authorities?.”