Jeffrey Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is a best-selling English author and former politician whose political career ended with his conviction and subsequent imprisonment (2001–03) for perjury
and perverting the course of justice
.
Alongside his literary work, Archer was a Member of Parliament
(1969–74), deputy chairman of the Conservative Party
(1985–86) and was made a life peer
in 1992.
, Somerset, where he spent most of his early life. He has an older brother born out of wedlock, also originally called Jeffrey, who was put up for adoption at an early age. The brother assumed the name David Brown and only discovered his relationship to Archer 1980, even though Archer already apparently knew this, according to the journalist Michael Crick
. His father, William (died 1956), was sixty-four when Archer was born. In 1951, he won a scholarship to Wellington School
, in Somerset (not to be confused with the public school Wellington College
, which is possible from the ambiguous biography in Archer's earlier books). At this time his mother, Lola, contributed a column "Over the teacups" to the local press in Weston-super-Mare and wrote about the adventures of her son 'Tuppence'; this caused Archer to be the victim of bullying while at Wellington School.
After Archer left school passing O-levels in English Literature, Art, and History, he worked in a number of jobs, including training with the army and for the police. This lasted only for a few months, but he fared better as a Physical Education teacher; first at Vicar's Hill, a Prep School
in Hampshire
where he taught fencing amongst other sports, later at the more prestigious independent school
Dover College
in Kent. As a teacher he was popular with pupils and was reported by some to have had good motivational skills, helping to instil personal confidence in the less confident.
. The course was based at Brasenose College, Oxford
, although Archer was never registered as an undergraduate student of the College. There have been claims that Archer provided false evidence of his academic qualifications, for instance the apparent citing of an American institution which was actually a bodybuilding club, in gaining admission to the course. It is also alleged that he provided false statements about three non-existent A level passes and a US degree. His website includes references to his Oxford 'Principal', yet omits that he was not a full undergraduate at Oxford.
While in Oxford
he was successful in athletics, competing in sprinting and hurdling. It is unclear whether he was in fact eligible to compete in Varsity match
es, not being a member of the College. Television coverage survives of him making false start
s in a 1964 sprint race, but despite the rules Archer was not disqualified. He gained a blue in athletics and went on to run for England once and also competed for Great Britain once and was successful financially.
He raised money for the charity Oxfam
, obtaining the support of The Beatles
in a charity fundraising drive. The band accepted his invitation to visit the senior common room of Brasenose College, where they were photographed with Archer and dons of the college, although they did not play there. The critic Sheridan Morley
, then a student at Merton
, was present and recalled the occasion:
It was during this period that Archer met his wife, Mary Weeden, at that time studying chemistry
at St Anne's College, Oxford. They married in July 1966. Mary went on to specialise in solar power.
during 1967–70.
One organisation Archer worked for, the United Nations Association
, alleged discrepancies in his claims for expenses, and details appeared in the press in a scrambled form. Archer brought a defamation action against the former Conservative
member of parliament
Humphry Berkeley
, chairman of the UNA, as the source of the allegations. The case was settled out of court after three years. Berkeley tried to persuade Conservative Central Office that Archer was unsuitable as a parliamentary candidate, but a selection meeting at Louth disregarded any doubts.
Archer set up his own fund-raising company, Arrow Enterprises, in 1969. That same year he opened an art gallery, the Archer Gallery, in Mayfair
. The gallery specialised in modern art, including pieces by the acclaimed sculptor and painter Leon Underwood
. The gallery ultimately lost money, however, and Archer sold it two years later.
, was picked up by the literary agent Deborah Owen and published first in the US, then eventually in Britain in the Autumn of 1976. The book was an instant success and Archer avoided bankruptcy, never being legally declared bankrupt. A BBC Television adaptation of the book was broadcast in 1990, and a radio adaptation was aired on BBC Radio 4
in the early 1980s.
Kane and Abel
proved to be his best-selling work, reaching number one on the New York Times bestsellers list. It was made into a television mini-series
by CBS
in 1985, starring Peter Strauss
and Sam Neill
. The following year, Granada TV screened a ten-part adaptation of another Archer bestseller, First Among Equals, which told the story of four men and their quest to become Prime Minister.
Archer states he spends considerable time writing and re-writing each book. He goes abroad to write the first draft, working in blocks of two-hours at a time, then writes anything up to seventeen further drafts. It has been suggested that his books require extensive editing by others to make them readable.
In 2011, Archer published the first of five books in The Clifton Chronicles, which follow the life of Harry Clifton from his birth in 1920, through to the finale in 2020. Only Time Will Tell tells the story of Harry from 1920 through to 1940 and was published in the UK on 12 May 2011. In March 2011 he visited New Zealand as part of a promotional tour. His stops included an interview on Radio Live
with hosts Willie Jackson and former-disgraced-MP John Tamihere
.
(MP) for the Lincolnshire
constituency of Louth
, holding the seat for the Conservative Party in a by-election
on 4 December 1969. Archer beat Ian Gow
to the selection after winning over a substantial proportion of younger members at the selection meeting. The national party had concerns about Archer's selection, but these were dismissed by the local Conservative association after representatives made a journey to party headquarters to discuss the matter. Archer's campaign colour was a dayglo orange/pink with a blue arrow; the political parties in Lincolnshire had not yet abandoned local colours, which were different from the party national colours.
Louth constituency had three key areas: Louth
, Cleethorpes
, and Immingham
. During his time as a Member of Parliament, Archer was a regular at the Immingham Conservative Club in the most working-class part of the constituency.
He took part in the "Kennedy Memorial Test" in 1970, a 50 mile running/walking race from Louth to Skegness
and back. This raised funds for the building of Louth Swimming Pool, which was subsequently opened by his wife in March 1974.
In Parliament
, Archer was on the left of the Conservative Party, rebelling against some of his party's policies. He urged free TV licences for the elderly and was against museum charges. Archer voted against restoring capital punishment, saying it was barbaric and obscene. In 1971, he employed David Mellor
, then needing money for his bar finals, to deal with his correspondence. He tipped Mellor to reach the cabinet. In an interview Archer said, "I hope we don't return to extremes. I'm what you might call centre-right but I've always disliked the right wing as much as I've disliked the left wing."
In 1974, he was a casualty of a fraudulent investment scheme involving Aquablast, a Canadian company, a debacle which lost Archer his first fortune. Fearing imminent bankruptcy, he stood down as an MP at the October 1974 general election
. By this time the Archers were living in a large five-bedroom house in The Boltons, an exclusive street in South Kensington
. As a result of the Aquablast affair, they were forced to sell the house and move into more modest accommodation for a while.
in September 1985. Norman Tebbit
, party chairman, had misgivings over the appointment, as did other prominent members of the party, including William Whitelaw and Ted Heath. During his tenure as deputy chairman, Archer was responsible for a number of embarrassing moments, including his statement, made during a live radio interview, that many young, unemployed people were simply unwilling to find work. At the time of Archer's comment, unemployment in the UK stood at a record 3.4 million. Archer was later forced to apologise for the remark, suggesting that his words had been "taken out of context".
Archer resigned in October 1986 due to a scandal caused by an article in The News of the World, which led on the story "Tory boss Archer pays vice-girl" and claimed Archer had paid Monica Coghlan
, a prostitute, £2,000 through an intermediary at Victoria Station to go abroad.
The description the judge (Mr Justice Caulfield) gave of Mrs Archer in his jury instructions included: "Remember Mary Archer in the witness-box. Your vision of her probably will never disappear. Has she elegance? Has she fragrance? Would she have, without the strain of this trial, radiance? How would she appeal? Has she had a happy married life? Has she been able to enjoy, rather than endure, her husband Jeffrey?" The judge then went on to say of Jeffrey Archer, "Is he in need of cold, unloving, rubber-insulated sex in a seedy hotel round about quarter to one on a Tuesday morning after an evening at the Caprice?" By this time, according to the journalist Adam Raphael
, Jeffrey and Mary Archer were, in fact, living largely separate lives.
The editor of the Daily Star, Lloyd Turner
, was sacked six weeks after the trial by the paper's owner Lord Stevens of Ludgate.
Archer lost a libel case after accusations in his book Twist in the Tale, portraying Major General James Oluleye to be a thief. (Oluleye is the author of Architecturing a Destiny and Military Leadership in Nigeria.)
suppressed Kurdish uprisings
in 1991, Archer, with the Red Cross, set up the charity Simple Truth, a fundraising campaign on behalf of the Kurds
." In May 1991, Archer organised a charity pop concert
, starring Rod Stewart
, Paul Simon
, Sting and Gloria Estefan
, who all performed free. Archer claimed that his charity had raised £57,042,000, though it was later revealed that only £3 million came from the Simple Truth concert and appeal, the rest from aid projects sponsored by the British and other governments, with significant amounts pledged before the concert. The charity would later result in further controversy.
Having been previously rejected, Archer was made a life peer
in 1992 as Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare, of Mark in the County of Somerset
. Prime minister John Major
recommended him largely because of Archer's role in aid to the Kurds.
, to "Stand and deliver," saying: "Michael, I am sick and tired of being told by old people that they are frightened to open the door, they're frightened to go out at night, frightened to use the parks and byways where their parents and grandparents walked with freedom ... We say to you: stand and deliver!". He then attacked violent films and urged tougher prison conditions to prevent criminals from re-offending. He criticised the role of "do-gooders" and finished off the speech by denouncing the opposition party's law and order
policies. On Question Time
in February 1994, Archer stated that 18 should be the age of consent for homosexuality, as opposed to 21, which it was at the time. Archer has also consistently been an opponent of a return to capital punishment.
, attended a directors' meeting at which an impending takeover of Anglia Television by MAI, which owned Meridian Broadcasting
, was discussed. The following day, Jeffrey Archer bought 50,000 shares in Anglia Television, acting on behalf of a friend, Broosk Saib. Shortly after this, it was announced publicly that Anglia Television would be taken over by MAI. As a result the shares jumped in value, whereupon Archer sold them on behalf of his friend for a profit of £77,219. The arrangements he made with the stockbrokers meant he did not have to pay at the time of buying the shares.
An inquiry was launched by the Stock Exchange
into possible insider trading
. The Department of Trade and Industry, headed by Michael Heseltine
, announced that Archer would not be prosecuted. Archer later claimed that he had been "exonerated", but the DTI inquiry had merely stated that there was insufficient evidence to bring a prosecution.
, when, on 21 November, the News of the World
published allegations that he had committed perjury
in his 1987 libel case. Archer withdrew his candidacy the following day.
The basis of the allegations originated with Ted Francis, a friend who claimed Archer owed him money, and Angela Peppiatt, Archer's former personal assistant. They stated that Archer had fabricated an alibi in the 1987 trial and were concerned that Archer was unsuitable to stand as Mayor of London
. Peppiatt had kept a diary of Archer's movements, which contradicted evidence given during the 1987 trial.
After the allegations, Archer was disowned by his party. Conservative leader William Hague
explained: "This is the end of politics for Jeffrey Archer. I will not tolerate such behaviour in my party." On 4 February 2000, Archer was expelled from the party for five years.
The perjury trial began on 30 May 2001, a month after Monica Coghlan
's death. Archer never spoke during the trial, though his wife Mary again gave evidence as she had done during the 1987 trial. When Archer's mother died on 11 July, aged 87, he was released for the day to attend the funeral. On 19 July 2001, Archer was found guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice at the 1987 trial. He was sentenced to four years' imprisonment by Mr Justice Potts. Ted Francis was found not guilty of perverting the course of justice.
prison, but was moved to Wayland Prison, a Category "C" prison in Norfolk
on 9 August 2001. Despite automatically qualifying as a category "D" prisoner given it was a first conviction and he did not pose serious risk of harm to the public, his status as such was suspended pending a police investigation into allegations about his Kurdish charity. He was then transferred to North Sea Camp
, an open prison
, in October 2001. From there he was let out to work at the Theatre Royal
in Lincoln, England, and was allowed occasional home visits. Media reports claimed he had been abusing this privilege by attending lunches with friends, including former Education Secretary Gillian Shephard and in September 2002 he was transferred to a Category "B" prison, Lincoln
, for a month, before returning to a Category "D" prison, Hollesley Bay
in Suffolk.
While in prison, he wrote the three-volume memoir A Prison Diary
, with volumes fashioned after Dante's Divine Comedy and named the first three prisons he was kept in. During his imprisonment, Archer was visited by a number of high-profile friends, including the actor Donald Sinden
and the performer Barry Humphries
.
In October 2002, Archer repaid the Daily Star the £500,000 damages he had received in 1987, as well as legal costs and interest of £1.3 million. That month, he was suspended from Marylebone Cricket Club
for seven years.
On 21 July 2003, Archer was released on licence, after serving half of his sentence
, from HMP Hollesley Bay
, Suffolk.
began investigating allegations that millions of pounds had disappeared from Archer's Kurdish charity. In 1991, Archer had claimed to have raised £57,042,000. In 1992, the Kurdish Disaster Fund had written to Archer, complaining: "You must be concerned that the Kurdish refugees have seen hardly any of the huge sums raised in the west in their name." Kurdish groups claimed little more than £250,000 had been received by groups in Iraq. Archer then had gone to Iraq on a fact-finding mission, where his chant of "Long Live Kurdistan" was mis-translated as "Bastard, Devilish Kurdistan."
A British Red Cross
-commissioned KPMG
audit of the cash showed no donations were handled by Archer and any misappropriation was "unlikely". But KPMG could find no evidence to support Archer's claims to have raised £31.5 million from overseas governments. The police said they would launch a "preliminary assessment of the facts" from the audit but were not investigating the Simple Truth fund.
at Saint Martin-in-the-Fields on Thursday 7 October 2004 where they sat in the same pew as Gregory Lauder-Frost
, the former head of the Conservative Monday Club
, and in front of Lady Thatcher, who embraced Lady Archer.
In 2004, the government of Equatorial Guinea
alleged that Archer was one of the financiers of the failed 2004 coup d'état attempt
against them, citing bank details and telephone records as evidence. In 2009, Archer said: “I am completely relaxed about it. Mr Mann [the English mercenary leader of the coup] has made clear that it’s nothing to do with me.’’ In 2011 the English mercenary
Simon Mann
, jailed in Equatorial Guinea
for his part in leading the failed 2004 coup d'état attempt
told The Daily Telegraph
that his forthcoming book Cry Havoc would reveal “the financial involvement of a controversial and internationally famous member of the British House of Lords in the plot, backed up by banking records”. He claimed that documents from the bank accounts in Guernsey of two companies Mann used as vehicles for organising the coup, showed a 'J H Archer' paying $135,000 into one of the firms.
On 26 February 2006, on Andrew Marr's
Sunday AM
programme, Archer said he had no interest in returning to front-line politics: he would pursue his writing instead. He has confirmed this when speaking at the Emmanuel College Politics Society and the Christ's Politics Society at the University of Cambridge
.
, a house associated with the poet Rupert Brooke
. He also began to hold shepherd's pie
and Krug
parties for prominent people at his London apartment, which overlooks the Houses of Parliament.
While he was a witness in the Aquablast case in Toronto in 1977, Archer was accused of taking three suits from a department store, an accusation he denied for many years. However, in the late 1990s, Archer finally acknowledged that he had indeed taken the suits, although he claimed that at the time he had not realised he had left the shop. No charges were brought.
in the BBC drama Jeffrey Archer: The Truth (2002), which received strong reviews. Script writer Guy Jenkin
explained that "my Jeffrey Archer is the man who has frequently saved Britain over the last 30 years. He's beloved of all women he comes across, all men, all dogs – he's a superhero".
Archer's life was parodied in November 2004 on BBC Radio 4
on an episode of the first series of 15 Minute Musical
entitled "Jeffrey! The Operetta", a Gilbert and Sullivan-style spoof.
In There's No Place Like a Home
, a comedy play by Paul Elliot, the residents of a retirement home for actors and actresses, trying to prevent its closure, kidnap Archer to use the ransom money to keep their home open.
The satirical magazine Private Eye
refers to Archer as 'Jeffrey Archole' or 'Lord Archole' and characterises him as a liar and fantasist. On occasion it has published spoofs of Archer's fiction, describing a thinly-veiled heroic version of himself called 'Jeremy Bowman'. Eye "diarist" Craig Brown
mocked Mary Archer's support for him in his version of her writings: "I am the chairman of the Ethics Committee at Addenbrookes hospital, and well used to coming down hard on those who lie incompetently."
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
and perverting the course of justice
Perverting the course of justice
Perverting the course of justice, in English, Canadian , and Irish law, is a criminal offence in which someone prevents justice from being served on himself or on another party...
.
Alongside his literary work, Archer was a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(1969–74), deputy chairman of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
(1985–86) and was made a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
in 1992.
Background
Jeffrey Howard Archer was born in the City of London Maternity Hospital. He was two weeks old when his family moved to the seaside town of Weston-super-MareWeston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
, Somerset, where he spent most of his early life. He has an older brother born out of wedlock, also originally called Jeffrey, who was put up for adoption at an early age. The brother assumed the name David Brown and only discovered his relationship to Archer 1980, even though Archer already apparently knew this, according to the journalist Michael Crick
Michael Crick
Michael Crick is a British journalist, author and broadcaster. Crick was a founding member of the Channel 4 News Team in 1982. He worked on the BBC's Newsnight between 1992 and 2011, acting as the programme's political editor from 2007 to his departure...
. His father, William (died 1956), was sixty-four when Archer was born. In 1951, he won a scholarship to Wellington School
Wellington School, Somerset
Wellington School is a British co-educational independent school in Wellington, Somerset, England catering for both day pupils and boarders. There are currently 750 pupils on roll including 200 students in the sixth form. The Headmaster is Martin Reader....
, in Somerset (not to be confused with the public school Wellington College
Wellington College, Berkshire
-Former pupils:Notable former pupils include historian P. J. Marshall, architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, impressionist Rory Bremner, Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, author Sebastian Faulks, language school pioneer John Haycraft, political journalist Robin Oakley, actor Sir Christopher...
, which is possible from the ambiguous biography in Archer's earlier books). At this time his mother, Lola, contributed a column "Over the teacups" to the local press in Weston-super-Mare and wrote about the adventures of her son 'Tuppence'; this caused Archer to be the victim of bullying while at Wellington School.
After Archer left school passing O-levels in English Literature, Art, and History, he worked in a number of jobs, including training with the army and for the police. This lasted only for a few months, but he fared better as a Physical Education teacher; first at Vicar's Hill, a Prep School
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
where he taught fencing amongst other sports, later at the more prestigious independent school
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
Dover College
Dover College
Dover College is a co-educational independent school in Dover in southeast England. It was founded in 1871, and takes both day pupils and boarders....
in Kent. As a teacher he was popular with pupils and was reported by some to have had good motivational skills, helping to instil personal confidence in the less confident.
Oxford
Archer studied for three years, gaining an academic qualification in teaching awarded by the Oxford University Department for Continuing EducationOxford University Department for Continuing Education
Oxford University Department for Continuing Education is a department within the University of Oxford that caters mainly for part-time and mature students. It is located at Rewley House, Wellington Square, Oxford, England....
. The course was based at Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
, although Archer was never registered as an undergraduate student of the College. There have been claims that Archer provided false evidence of his academic qualifications, for instance the apparent citing of an American institution which was actually a bodybuilding club, in gaining admission to the course. It is also alleged that he provided false statements about three non-existent A level passes and a US degree. His website includes references to his Oxford 'Principal', yet omits that he was not a full undergraduate at Oxford.
While in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
he was successful in athletics, competing in sprinting and hurdling. It is unclear whether he was in fact eligible to compete in Varsity match
Varsity match
A varsity match is a sporting fixture between two university rivals; in its original and most common form, it is used to describe meetings between Oxford University and Cambridge University.-Popular British and Irish Varsity matches:*University of Oxford v...
es, not being a member of the College. Television coverage survives of him making false start
False start
In sports, a false start is a movement by a participant before being signaled or otherwise permitted by the rules to start...
s in a 1964 sprint race, but despite the rules Archer was not disqualified. He gained a blue in athletics and went on to run for England once and also competed for Great Britain once and was successful financially.
Even as a student Jeffrey Archer was plagued with rumours of financial wrongdoing - fellow undergraduates were amazed that he owned houses and cars with personalised number plates while working part time as an Oxfam fund raiser.
He raised money for the charity Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
, obtaining the support of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
in a charity fundraising drive. The band accepted his invitation to visit the senior common room of Brasenose College, where they were photographed with Archer and dons of the college, although they did not play there. The critic Sheridan Morley
Sheridan Morley
Sheridan Morley was an English author, biographer, critic, director, actor and broadcaster. He was the eldest son of actor Robert Morley and grandson of actress Dame Gladys Cooper, and wrote biographies of both...
, then a student at Merton
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
, was present and recalled the occasion:
It was during this period that Archer met his wife, Mary Weeden, at that time studying chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
at St Anne's College, Oxford. They married in July 1966. Mary went on to specialise in solar power.
Charity fundraising
After leaving Oxford, he continued as a charity fundraiser, working for the National Birthday Trust, a medical charity. He also began a career in politics, serving as a Conservative councillor on the Greater London CouncilGreater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
during 1967–70.
One organisation Archer worked for, the United Nations Association
United Nations Association UK
right|The United Nations Association of the UK is the leading independent policy authority on the UN in the UK and a UK-wide grassroots membership organisation.-Activities:...
, alleged discrepancies in his claims for expenses, and details appeared in the press in a scrambled form. Archer brought a defamation action against the former Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
member of parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Humphry Berkeley
Humphry Berkeley
Humphry John Berkeley was a British politician noted for his many changes of parties and his efforts to effect homosexual law reform, and both oppose, and then seem to abet, grand apartheid....
, chairman of the UNA, as the source of the allegations. The case was settled out of court after three years. Berkeley tried to persuade Conservative Central Office that Archer was unsuitable as a parliamentary candidate, but a selection meeting at Louth disregarded any doubts.
Archer set up his own fund-raising company, Arrow Enterprises, in 1969. That same year he opened an art gallery, the Archer Gallery, in Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
. The gallery specialised in modern art, including pieces by the acclaimed sculptor and painter Leon Underwood
Leon Underwood
Leon Underwood "The precursor of modern sculpture in Britain" was a noted British sculptor, painter, draughtsman and engraver as well as a writer and illustrator, scholar, teacher, philosopher and stained glass and furniture craftsman...
. The gallery ultimately lost money, however, and Archer sold it two years later.
Writing career
His first book, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny LessNot a Penny More, Not a Penny Less
Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less was Jeffrey Archer's first novel, first published in 1976. It was said to have been inspired by Archer's real-life experience of near-bankruptcy.-Synopsis:...
, was picked up by the literary agent Deborah Owen and published first in the US, then eventually in Britain in the Autumn of 1976. The book was an instant success and Archer avoided bankruptcy, never being legally declared bankrupt. A BBC Television adaptation of the book was broadcast in 1990, and a radio adaptation was aired on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
in the early 1980s.
Kane and Abel
Kane and Abel (novel)
Kane and Abel is a 1979 novel by British author Jeffrey Archer. The title and story is a play on the Biblical brothers, Cain and Abel.Released in the United Kingdom in 1979 and in the United States in February 1980, the book was an international success. It reached No...
proved to be his best-selling work, reaching number one on the New York Times bestsellers list. It was made into a television mini-series
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in 1985, starring Peter Strauss
Peter Strauss
Peter Strauss is an American television and movie actor, known for his roles in several television miniseries in the 1970s and 1980s.-Personal life:...
and Sam Neill
Sam Neill
Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
. The following year, Granada TV screened a ten-part adaptation of another Archer bestseller, First Among Equals, which told the story of four men and their quest to become Prime Minister.
Archer states he spends considerable time writing and re-writing each book. He goes abroad to write the first draft, working in blocks of two-hours at a time, then writes anything up to seventeen further drafts. It has been suggested that his books require extensive editing by others to make them readable.
In 2011, Archer published the first of five books in The Clifton Chronicles, which follow the life of Harry Clifton from his birth in 1920, through to the finale in 2020. Only Time Will Tell tells the story of Harry from 1920 through to 1940 and was published in the UK on 12 May 2011. In March 2011 he visited New Zealand as part of a promotional tour. His stops included an interview on Radio Live
Radio Live
Radio Live and Radio Live Sport are nationwide Auckland-based New Zealand talkback, news and sports radio networks owned and operated by MediaWorks New Zealand...
with hosts Willie Jackson and former-disgraced-MP John Tamihere
John Tamihere
John Henry Tamihere is a New Zealand media personality and former politician. He served as a Cabinet minister in the governing Labour Party from August 2002 to 3 November 2004.-Early life:...
.
Member of Parliament
At 29, he was elected Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for the Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
constituency of Louth
Louth, Lincolnshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Louth was a county constituency in Lincolnshire which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election....
, holding the seat for the Conservative Party in a by-election
Louth by-election, 1969
The Louth by-election, 1969 was a by-election held on 4 December 1969 for the British House of Commons constituency of Louth in Lincolnshire....
on 4 December 1969. Archer beat Ian Gow
Ian Gow
Ian Reginald Edward Gow TD was a British Conservative politician and solicitor. While serving as Member of Parliament for Eastbourne, he was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army who exploded a bomb under his car outside his home in East Sussex.-Life:Ian Gow was born at 3 Upper...
to the selection after winning over a substantial proportion of younger members at the selection meeting. The national party had concerns about Archer's selection, but these were dismissed by the local Conservative association after representatives made a journey to party headquarters to discuss the matter. Archer's campaign colour was a dayglo orange/pink with a blue arrow; the political parties in Lincolnshire had not yet abandoned local colours, which were different from the party national colours.
Louth constituency had three key areas: Louth
Louth, Lincolnshire
Louth is a market town and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Known as the "capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds", it is situated where the ancient trackway Barton Street crosses the River Lud, and has a total resident population of 15,930.The Greenwich...
, Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes is a town and unparished area in North East Lincolnshire, England, situated on the estuary of the Humber. It has a population of 31,853 and is a seaside resort.- History :...
, and Immingham
Immingham
Immingham is a town in North East Lincolnshire, located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary...
. During his time as a Member of Parliament, Archer was a regular at the Immingham Conservative Club in the most working-class part of the constituency.
He took part in the "Kennedy Memorial Test" in 1970, a 50 mile running/walking race from Louth to Skegness
Skegness
Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. Located on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, east of the city of Lincoln it has a total resident population of 18,910....
and back. This raised funds for the building of Louth Swimming Pool, which was subsequently opened by his wife in March 1974.
In Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, Archer was on the left of the Conservative Party, rebelling against some of his party's policies. He urged free TV licences for the elderly and was against museum charges. Archer voted against restoring capital punishment, saying it was barbaric and obscene. In 1971, he employed David Mellor
David Mellor
David John Mellor, QC is a British politician, non-practising barrister, broadcaster, journalist and football pundit. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Secretary of State for National Heritage , before...
, then needing money for his bar finals, to deal with his correspondence. He tipped Mellor to reach the cabinet. In an interview Archer said, "I hope we don't return to extremes. I'm what you might call centre-right but I've always disliked the right wing as much as I've disliked the left wing."
In 1974, he was a casualty of a fraudulent investment scheme involving Aquablast, a Canadian company, a debacle which lost Archer his first fortune. Fearing imminent bankruptcy, he stood down as an MP at the October 1974 general election
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
. By this time the Archers were living in a large five-bedroom house in The Boltons, an exclusive street in South Kensington
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
. As a result of the Aquablast affair, they were forced to sell the house and move into more modest accommodation for a while.
Return to politics: Deputy party chairman
Archer's political career revived once he became known for his novels and as a popular speaker among the Conservative grassroots. He was made deputy chairman of the Conservative Party by Margaret ThatcherMargaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
in September 1985. Norman Tebbit
Norman Tebbit
Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, CH, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment...
, party chairman, had misgivings over the appointment, as did other prominent members of the party, including William Whitelaw and Ted Heath. During his tenure as deputy chairman, Archer was responsible for a number of embarrassing moments, including his statement, made during a live radio interview, that many young, unemployed people were simply unwilling to find work. At the time of Archer's comment, unemployment in the UK stood at a record 3.4 million. Archer was later forced to apologise for the remark, suggesting that his words had been "taken out of context".
Archer resigned in October 1986 due to a scandal caused by an article in The News of the World, which led on the story "Tory boss Archer pays vice-girl" and claimed Archer had paid Monica Coghlan
Monica Coghlan
Monica Coghlan was the British prostitute at the centre of a scandal that involved English Conservative politician Jeffrey Archer in 1987. Although he won a libel case against the Daily Star newspaper, which had alleged that he had sex with her, it was later established, in legal proceeding in...
, a prostitute, £2,000 through an intermediary at Victoria Station to go abroad.
Daily Star libel case
Compounding on this story, the Daily Star alleged that Archer had paid for sex with Coghlan. Archer responded by suing the Daily Star. The case came to court in July 1987. Explaining the payment to Coghlan as the action of a philanthropist rather than that of a guilty man, Archer won the case and was awarded £500,000 damages. Archer stated he would donate the money to charity. This case would ultimately result in Archer's final exit from front-line politics some years later.The description the judge (Mr Justice Caulfield) gave of Mrs Archer in his jury instructions included: "Remember Mary Archer in the witness-box. Your vision of her probably will never disappear. Has she elegance? Has she fragrance? Would she have, without the strain of this trial, radiance? How would she appeal? Has she had a happy married life? Has she been able to enjoy, rather than endure, her husband Jeffrey?" The judge then went on to say of Jeffrey Archer, "Is he in need of cold, unloving, rubber-insulated sex in a seedy hotel round about quarter to one on a Tuesday morning after an evening at the Caprice?" By this time, according to the journalist Adam Raphael
Adam Raphael
Adam Eliot Geoffrey Raphael is an award-winning English journalist and author. In the British Press Awards of 1973, he was named Journalist of the Year for his work on labour conditions in South Africa, and he has also been a presenter and editor of BBC Television's Newsnight. Since 2004, he has...
, Jeffrey and Mary Archer were, in fact, living largely separate lives.
The editor of the Daily Star, Lloyd Turner
Lloyd Turner (journalist)
Lloyd Turner was a newspaper editor in the United Kingdom.Born in Australia, Turner worked on the Newcastle Morning Herald before moving to England to work as a journalist at the Manchester Evening News...
, was sacked six weeks after the trial by the paper's owner Lord Stevens of Ludgate.
Archer lost a libel case after accusations in his book Twist in the Tale, portraying Major General James Oluleye to be a thief. (Oluleye is the author of Architecturing a Destiny and Military Leadership in Nigeria.)
Kurdish charity and peerage
When Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
suppressed Kurdish uprisings
1991 uprisings in Iraq
The 1991 uprisings in Iraq were a series of anti-governmental rebellions in southern and northern Iraq during the aftermath of the Gulf War. The revolt was fueled by the perception that the power of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was vulnerable at the time; as well as by heavily fueled anger at...
in 1991, Archer, with the Red Cross, set up the charity Simple Truth, a fundraising campaign on behalf of the Kurds
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
." In May 1991, Archer organised a charity pop concert
Benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a concert, show or gala featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. Such events raise both funds and public awareness to address the cause at...
, starring Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
, Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
, Sting and Gloria Estefan
Gloria Estefan
Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...
, who all performed free. Archer claimed that his charity had raised £57,042,000, though it was later revealed that only £3 million came from the Simple Truth concert and appeal, the rest from aid projects sponsored by the British and other governments, with significant amounts pledged before the concert. The charity would later result in further controversy.
Having been previously rejected, Archer was made a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
in 1992 as Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare, of Mark in the County of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. Prime minister John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
recommended him largely because of Archer's role in aid to the Kurds.
Political statements in 1990s
In a speech at the 1993 Conservative conference, Archer urged the Home Secretary Michael HowardMichael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
, to "Stand and deliver," saying: "Michael, I am sick and tired of being told by old people that they are frightened to open the door, they're frightened to go out at night, frightened to use the parks and byways where their parents and grandparents walked with freedom ... We say to you: stand and deliver!". He then attacked violent films and urged tougher prison conditions to prevent criminals from re-offending. He criticised the role of "do-gooders" and finished off the speech by denouncing the opposition party's law and order
Law and order (politics)
In politics, law and order refers to demands for a strict criminal justice system, especially in relation to violent and property crime, through harsher criminal penalties...
policies. On Question Time
Question Time
Question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers , which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be cancelled in exceptional circumstances...
in February 1994, Archer stated that 18 should be the age of consent for homosexuality, as opposed to 21, which it was at the time. Archer has also consistently been an opponent of a return to capital punishment.
Allegations of insider dealings
In January 1994, Mary Archer, then a director of Anglia TelevisionAnglia Television
Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
, attended a directors' meeting at which an impending takeover of Anglia Television by MAI, which owned Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
, was discussed. The following day, Jeffrey Archer bought 50,000 shares in Anglia Television, acting on behalf of a friend, Broosk Saib. Shortly after this, it was announced publicly that Anglia Television would be taken over by MAI. As a result the shares jumped in value, whereupon Archer sold them on behalf of his friend for a profit of £77,219. The arrangements he made with the stockbrokers meant he did not have to pay at the time of buying the shares.
An inquiry was launched by the Stock Exchange
Stock exchange
A stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...
into possible insider trading
Insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company...
. The Department of Trade and Industry, headed by Michael Heseltine
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
, announced that Archer would not be prosecuted. Archer later claimed that he had been "exonerated", but the DTI inquiry had merely stated that there was insufficient evidence to bring a prosecution.
London mayoral candidacy and allegations of perjury
In 1999, Archer had been selected by the Conservative Party as candidate for the London mayoral election of 2000London mayoral election, 2000
The first election to the office of Mayor of London took place on 4 May 2000.-Results:¹Under the Supplementary Vote system, if no candidate receives 50% of 1st choice votes, 2nd choice votes are added to the result for the top two 1st choice candidates...
, when, on 21 November, the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
published allegations that he had committed perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
in his 1987 libel case. Archer withdrew his candidacy the following day.
The basis of the allegations originated with Ted Francis, a friend who claimed Archer owed him money, and Angela Peppiatt, Archer's former personal assistant. They stated that Archer had fabricated an alibi in the 1987 trial and were concerned that Archer was unsuitable to stand as Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
. Peppiatt had kept a diary of Archer's movements, which contradicted evidence given during the 1987 trial.
After the allegations, Archer was disowned by his party. Conservative leader William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
explained: "This is the end of politics for Jeffrey Archer. I will not tolerate such behaviour in my party." On 4 February 2000, Archer was expelled from the party for five years.
Trial
On 26 September 2000, he was charged with perjury and perverting the course of justice during the 1987 libel trial. Simultaneously, Archer starred in a production of his courtroom play The Accused, staged at London's Theatre Royal Haymarket. The play concerned the court trial of an alleged murderer and assigned the role of jury to the audience, which would vote on the guilt of Archer's character at the end of each performance.The perjury trial began on 30 May 2001, a month after Monica Coghlan
Monica Coghlan
Monica Coghlan was the British prostitute at the centre of a scandal that involved English Conservative politician Jeffrey Archer in 1987. Although he won a libel case against the Daily Star newspaper, which had alleged that he had sex with her, it was later established, in legal proceeding in...
's death. Archer never spoke during the trial, though his wife Mary again gave evidence as she had done during the 1987 trial. When Archer's mother died on 11 July, aged 87, he was released for the day to attend the funeral. On 19 July 2001, Archer was found guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice at the 1987 trial. He was sentenced to four years' imprisonment by Mr Justice Potts. Ted Francis was found not guilty of perverting the course of justice.
Jail
Archer was sent to Belmarsh Prison, a Category "A"Prison security categories in the United Kingdom
There are four prisoner security categories in the United Kingdom used to classify every adult prisoner for the purposes of assigning them to a prison. The categories are based upon the severity of the crime and the risk posed should the person escape....
prison, but was moved to Wayland Prison, a Category "C" prison in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
on 9 August 2001. Despite automatically qualifying as a category "D" prisoner given it was a first conviction and he did not pose serious risk of harm to the public, his status as such was suspended pending a police investigation into allegations about his Kurdish charity. He was then transferred to North Sea Camp
North Sea Camp (HM Prison)
HM Prison North Sea Camp is a Category D men's prison, located on the edge of the parish of Freiston in Lincolnshire, England. North Sea Camp is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
, an open prison
Open prison
An open prison is an informal description applied to any penal establishment in which the prisoners are trusted to serve their sentences with minimal supervision and perimeter security and so do not need to be locked up in prison cells...
, in October 2001. From there he was let out to work at the Theatre Royal
Theatre Royal, Lincoln
The Theatre Royal is a theatre in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England.The present theatre, initially called the New Theatre Royal, was built in 1893 to the designs of Bertie Crewe and W.G.R. Sprague. An explosion and fire in 1892 had destroyed the previous theatre on the site, built in 1806...
in Lincoln, England, and was allowed occasional home visits. Media reports claimed he had been abusing this privilege by attending lunches with friends, including former Education Secretary Gillian Shephard and in September 2002 he was transferred to a Category "B" prison, Lincoln
Lincoln (HM Prison)
HM Prison Lincoln is a Category B men's prison, located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
, for a month, before returning to a Category "D" prison, Hollesley Bay
Hollesley Bay (HM Prison)
HM Prison Hollesley Bay, known locally as Hollesley Bay Colony or simply The Colony, is a Category D men's prison and Young Offenders Institution, located in the village of Hollesley, about 8 miles from the town of Woodbridge in Suffolk, England...
in Suffolk.
While in prison, he wrote the three-volume memoir A Prison Diary
A Prison Diary
A Prison Diary is a series of three books of diaries written by Jeffrey Archer during his time in prisons following his convictions for perjury and perverting the course of justice.Each volume is named after the parts of Dante's The Divine Comedy...
, with volumes fashioned after Dante's Divine Comedy and named the first three prisons he was kept in. During his imprisonment, Archer was visited by a number of high-profile friends, including the actor Donald Sinden
Donald Sinden
Sir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE is an English actor of theatre, film and television.-Personal life:Sinden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes , he grew up in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where their home doubled as the...
and the performer Barry Humphries
Barry Humphries
John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE is an Australian comedian, satirist, dadaist, artist, author and character actor, best known for his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage, a Melbourne housewife and "gigastar", and Sir Les Patterson, Australia's foul-mouthed cultural attaché to the...
.
In October 2002, Archer repaid the Daily Star the £500,000 damages he had received in 1987, as well as legal costs and interest of £1.3 million. That month, he was suspended from Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
for seven years.
On 21 July 2003, Archer was released on licence, after serving half of his sentence
Sentence (law)
In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...
, from HMP Hollesley Bay
Hollesley Bay (HM Prison)
HM Prison Hollesley Bay, known locally as Hollesley Bay Colony or simply The Colony, is a Category D men's prison and Young Offenders Institution, located in the village of Hollesley, about 8 miles from the town of Woodbridge in Suffolk, England...
, Suffolk.
Kurdish aid controversy
In July 2001, shortly after being jailed for perjury, Archer's name was again shrouded in controversy, when Scotland YardScotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
began investigating allegations that millions of pounds had disappeared from Archer's Kurdish charity. In 1991, Archer had claimed to have raised £57,042,000. In 1992, the Kurdish Disaster Fund had written to Archer, complaining: "You must be concerned that the Kurdish refugees have seen hardly any of the huge sums raised in the west in their name." Kurdish groups claimed little more than £250,000 had been received by groups in Iraq. Archer then had gone to Iraq on a fact-finding mission, where his chant of "Long Live Kurdistan" was mis-translated as "Bastard, Devilish Kurdistan."
A British Red Cross
British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom branch of the worldwide impartial humanitarian organisation the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with over 31,000 volunteers and 2,600 staff. At the heart of their work...
-commissioned KPMG
KPMG
KPMG is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PwC. Its global headquarters is located in Amstelveen, Netherlands....
audit of the cash showed no donations were handled by Archer and any misappropriation was "unlikely". But KPMG could find no evidence to support Archer's claims to have raised £31.5 million from overseas governments. The police said they would launch a "preliminary assessment of the facts" from the audit but were not investigating the Simple Truth fund.
Recent years
Many of Archer's friends remained loyal. He and Lady Archer were guests at the memorial service for Norris McWhirterNorris McWhirter
Norris Dewar McWhirter, CBE was a writer, political activist, co-founder of the Freedom Association, and a television presenter. He and his twin brother, Ross, were known internationally for the Guinness Book of Records, a book they wrote and annually updated together between 1955 and 1975...
at Saint Martin-in-the-Fields on Thursday 7 October 2004 where they sat in the same pew as Gregory Lauder-Frost
Conservative Democratic Alliance
The Conservative Democratic Alliance was a United Kingdom pressure group. The CDA referred to itself as the "authentic voice of conservatism"...
, the former head of the Conservative Monday Club
Conservative Monday Club
The Conservative Monday Club is a British pressure group "on the right-wing" of the Conservative Party.-Overview:...
, and in front of Lady Thatcher, who embraced Lady Archer.
In 2004, the government of Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...
alleged that Archer was one of the financiers of the failed 2004 coup d'état attempt
2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt
The 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt, also known as the Wonga coup, was an alleged coup attempt against the government of Equatorial Guinea in order to replace President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo with exiled opposition politician Severo Moto, carried out by mercenaries and organised...
against them, citing bank details and telephone records as evidence. In 2009, Archer said: “I am completely relaxed about it. Mr Mann [the English mercenary leader of the coup] has made clear that it’s nothing to do with me.’’ In 2011 the English mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
Simon Mann
Simon Mann
Simon Francis Mann is a British mercenary and former British Army officer. He had been serving a 34-year prison sentence in Equatorial Guinea for his role in a failed coup d'état in 2004, before receiving a presidential pardon on humanitarian grounds on 2 November 2009.Mann was extradited from...
, jailed in Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...
for his part in leading the failed 2004 coup d'état attempt
2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt
The 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt, also known as the Wonga coup, was an alleged coup attempt against the government of Equatorial Guinea in order to replace President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo with exiled opposition politician Severo Moto, carried out by mercenaries and organised...
told The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
that his forthcoming book Cry Havoc would reveal “the financial involvement of a controversial and internationally famous member of the British House of Lords in the plot, backed up by banking records”. He claimed that documents from the bank accounts in Guernsey of two companies Mann used as vehicles for organising the coup, showed a 'J H Archer' paying $135,000 into one of the firms.
On 26 February 2006, on Andrew Marr's
Andrew Marr
Andrew William Stevenson Marr is a Scottish journalist and political commentator. He edited The Independent for two years until May 1998, and was political editor of BBC News from 2000 until 2005....
Sunday AM
Sunday AM
The Andrew Marr Show is an hour-long British television programme broadcast on BBC One on Sunday mornings from 9am. It is presented by Andrew Marr, previously the BBC's Political Editor. In it, the host interviews political figures and others involved in the current events of the week...
programme, Archer said he had no interest in returning to front-line politics: he would pursue his writing instead. He has confirmed this when speaking at the Emmanuel College Politics Society and the Christ's Politics Society at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
.
Personal life
In 1979, Archer purchased the Old Vicarage, GrantchesterOld Vicarage, Grantchester
The Old Vicarage in the Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester is a house associated with the poet Rupert Brooke, who lived nearby and in 1912 immortalised it in an eponymous poem....
, a house associated with the poet Rupert Brooke
Rupert Brooke
Rupert Chawner Brooke was an English poet known for his idealistic war sonnets written during the First World War, especially The Soldier...
. He also began to hold shepherd's pie
Shepherd's pie
Cottage pie or shepherd's pie is a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato.The term cottage pie is known to have been in use in 1791, when the potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor Cottage pie or shepherd's pie is a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato.The term...
and Krug
Champagne Krug
Champagne Krug—a "négociant-manipulateur" with offices in Reims, the main city in Champagne—was one of the famous Champagne houses who formed part of the membership of the Grande Marques. Krug Grande Cuvée is one of the crown jewels in the LVMH wine division, placed alongside the Moët et Chandon's...
parties for prominent people at his London apartment, which overlooks the Houses of Parliament.
While he was a witness in the Aquablast case in Toronto in 1977, Archer was accused of taking three suits from a department store, an accusation he denied for many years. However, in the late 1990s, Archer finally acknowledged that he had indeed taken the suits, although he claimed that at the time he had not realised he had left the shop. No charges were brought.
Archer in fiction
Archer was satirically portrayed as a misunderstood secret agent, saviour of Britain and mankind and "overall thoroughly good chap", by actor Damian LewisDamian Lewis
Lewis was born in St John's Wood, London, the son of Charlotte Mary and J. Watcyn Lewis, a City broker. His paternal grandparents were Welsh. His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Ian Frank Bowater and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of...
in the BBC drama Jeffrey Archer: The Truth (2002), which received strong reviews. Script writer Guy Jenkin
Guy Jenkin
Guy Jenkin is a comedy writer who is best known for working on sitcoms and comedies such as Drop the Dead Donkey, Jeffrey Archer: The Truth and Outnumbered...
explained that "my Jeffrey Archer is the man who has frequently saved Britain over the last 30 years. He's beloved of all women he comes across, all men, all dogs – he's a superhero".
Archer's life was parodied in November 2004 on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
on an episode of the first series of 15 Minute Musical
15 Minute Musical
15 Minute Musical is a comedy series on BBC Radio 4 written by Richie Webb, David Quantick and Dave Cohen. Each episode is in a different musical style with a story featuring current celebrities and politicians...
entitled "Jeffrey! The Operetta", a Gilbert and Sullivan-style spoof.
In There's No Place Like a Home
There's No Place Like a Home
There's No Place Like A Home is a comedy play by Paul Elliott which tells the story of the residents of Stollberg Hall Retirement Home for Theatrical Performers...
, a comedy play by Paul Elliot, the residents of a retirement home for actors and actresses, trying to prevent its closure, kidnap Archer to use the ransom money to keep their home open.
The satirical magazine Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
refers to Archer as 'Jeffrey Archole' or 'Lord Archole' and characterises him as a liar and fantasist. On occasion it has published spoofs of Archer's fiction, describing a thinly-veiled heroic version of himself called 'Jeremy Bowman'. Eye "diarist" Craig Brown
Craig Brown (satirist)
Craig Edward Moncrieff Brown is a British critic and satirist from England, probably best known for his work in Private Eye.-Biography:...
mocked Mary Archer's support for him in his version of her writings: "I am the chairman of the Ethics Committee at Addenbrookes hospital, and well used to coming down hard on those who lie incompetently."
Kane and Abel series
- Shall We Tell the President?Shall We Tell the President?Shall We Tell The President? is a 1977 book by English author Jeffrey Archer.In its original version, a plot to kill the president of the United States, Edward Kennedy, is foiled by an FBI agent working with the head of the FBI. A love story complicates the plot. The book includes descriptive...
(1977) - Kane and AbelKane and Abel (novel)Kane and Abel is a 1979 novel by British author Jeffrey Archer. The title and story is a play on the Biblical brothers, Cain and Abel.Released in the United Kingdom in 1979 and in the United States in February 1980, the book was an international success. It reached No...
(1980) - The Prodigal DaughterThe Prodigal DaughterThe Prodigal Daughter is a novel by Jeffrey Archer. It is the story of Florentyna Kane, the daughter of Abel Rosnovski of Archer's Kane and Abel. The novel, one of Archer's best sellers, portrays Florentyna's life from early childhood to her final ascension to the position of President of United...
(1982)
Prison diaries (non-fiction)
- 1. Hell – BelmarshA Prison DiaryA Prison Diary is a series of three books of diaries written by Jeffrey Archer during his time in prisons following his convictions for perjury and perverting the course of justice.Each volume is named after the parts of Dante's The Divine Comedy...
(2002) - 2. Purgatory – WaylandA Prison DiaryA Prison Diary is a series of three books of diaries written by Jeffrey Archer during his time in prisons following his convictions for perjury and perverting the course of justice.Each volume is named after the parts of Dante's The Divine Comedy...
(2003) - 3. Heaven – North Sea CampA Prison DiaryA Prison Diary is a series of three books of diaries written by Jeffrey Archer during his time in prisons following his convictions for perjury and perverting the course of justice.Each volume is named after the parts of Dante's The Divine Comedy...
(2004)
Other novels
- Not A Penny More, Not A Penny LessNot a Penny More, Not a Penny LessNot a Penny More, Not a Penny Less was Jeffrey Archer's first novel, first published in 1976. It was said to have been inspired by Archer's real-life experience of near-bankruptcy.-Synopsis:...
(1976) - First Among Equals (1984)
- A Matter of HonourA Matter of HonourA Matter of Honor is a novel by Jeffrey Archer, first published in 1986.- Plot summary :In 1966 disgraced British colonel bequeaths a mysterious letter to his only son....
(1986) - As the Crow Flies (1991)
- Honour Among ThievesHonour Among ThievesHonour Among Thieves is a novel by English author Jeffrey Archer. The book takes place in 1993 with Saddam Hussein planning to retaliate at the United States after the events of the Gulf War....
(1993) - The Fourth Estate (1996)
- The Eleventh CommandmentThe Eleventh CommandmentThe Eleventh Commandment is a novel by Jeffrey Archer, first published in 1998. The title refers to the rule Thou Shalt Not Get Caught.- Plot summary :...
(1998) - Sons of FortuneSons of FortuneSons of Fortune is a novel by Jeffrey Archer, published 2003 . Its working title was In the Lap of the Gods.-Plot summary:...
(2002) - False ImpressionFalse ImpressionFalse Impression is a mystery novel by English author Jeffrey Archer, first published in February 2005 by Macmillan . The novel was published in several countries, including Brazil, where it was first released in 2007 by Bertrand Brasil....
(2005) - The Gospel According to JudasThe Gospel According to JudasThe Gospel According to Judas is a 2007 novel by Jeffrey Archer and Frank Moloney which presents the events of the New Testament through the eyes of Judas Iscariot.- External links :* with Jeffery Archer the author of The Gospel According to Judas....
by Benjamin Iscariot With Francis J. Moloney (2007) - A Prisoner of BirthA Prisoner of BirthA Prisoner of Birth is a mystery novel by English author Jeffrey Archer, first published in 6 March 2008 by Macmillan. This book is a contemporary retelling of Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo.-Plot summary:...
(2008) - Paths of GloryPaths of Glory (novel)Paths of Glory is a novel by English author Jeffrey Archer based on the story of George Mallory. It was published by St. Martin's Press on 3 March 2009. It claims that George Mallory, an Englishman, was the first to conquer Mount Everest -- before Sir Edmund Hillary...
(2009) - Only Time Will TellOnly Time Will Tell (novel)Only Time Will Tell is a first part of the five in Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer. The book is being released worldwide in 2011. It was launched by Jeffrey Archer himself at Bangalore, India in March 2011, as the beginning of a global book tour...
(2011)
Plays
- Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1987)
- Exclusive (1989)
- The Accused (2000)
Short stories/Collections
- A Quiver Full of ArrowsA Quiver Full of ArrowsA Quiver Full of Arrows is a 1980 collection of twelve short stories by British writer and politician Jeffrey Archer.-The Chinese Statue:...
(1980) - A Twist in the TaleA Twist in the Tale (book)A Twist in the Tale is a 1988 collection of short stories by British author and politician Jeffrey Archer. The collection contains 12 stories, which are listed below.-The Perfect Murder:...
(1989) - Fools, Knaves, and Heroes: Great Political Short Stories Editor, Introduction. (1991)
- Twelve Red HerringsTwelve Red HerringsTwelve Red Herrings is a 1994 short story collection by British writer and politician Jeffrey Archer. Archer challenges his readers to find "twelve red herrings", one in each story. The book reached #3 in the Canadian best-sellers list. J. K...
(1994) - The Collected Short Stories (1997)
- To Cut a Long Story ShortTo Cut a Long Story Short (book)To Cut a Long Story Short is a 2000 short story collection by British writer and politician Jeffrey Archer. Unlike his previous collections, which have contained 12 stories, this one has 15. A list of the featured stories is below....
(2000) - Cat O'Nine TalesCat O'Nine TalesCat O'Nine Tales is British author Jeffrey Archer's fifth collection of short stories. It was published in 2006, and nine of the twelve stories are based on tales Archer heard while in prison...
(2006) - And Thereby Hangs a TaleAnd Thereby Hangs a TaleAnd Thereby Hangs a Tale is British author Jeffrey Archer's sixth collection of short stories. It was published in 2010, and ten of the fifteen stories are based on tales Archer gathered on travels over the previous six years or so. The other five stories are claimed to derive from his own...
(2010)
For children
- The First Miracle (1980)
- By Royal Appointment (1980)
- Willy Visits the Square World (1980)
- Willy and the Killer Kipper (1981)
External links
- Official website
- In Depth: Archer Trial at BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
- Curtis Brown Literary Agency
Interviews
- Interview about becoming Mayor of London at BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
- Interview with Jeffrey Archer on Veronika Asks
- Writing tips from Jeffrey Archer
- Interview of Jeffrey Archer in the Hindu