A  38-year-old man from Rotterdam is likely to be connected to the murder of former health minister Els Borst almost a year ago, the public prosecution department said on Monday.

The man was arrested on January 12 in connection with the murder of another woman in Rotterdam and his dna was a match to traces found at the scene of Borst’s killing.

He has not yet been formally arrested in connection with Borst’s death and police are now trying to establish if he is indeed their suspect.

Preparing to question him is proving time-consuming because the man is only allowed to have contact with the outside world via his lawyer, police told a news conference on Monday afternoon.

Borst, 81, who was a prominent member of the Liberal democratic party D66, was found dead in the garage of her home in Bilthoven in February 2014.

A television appeal for information last October generated 150 replies but no leads.