Former British politician, novelist Jeffrey Archer dies aged 86

Former British politician and writer Jeffrey Archer has died aged 86, his publisher said in a statement on Monday.

Archer,​‌‌⁠⁠⁠‍⁠⁠‍​​‍‌⁠‌‍⁠‌​ who was a Conservative MP for five years before serving as the party’s deputy chairman, died “suddenly and peacefully at his home between writing sessions” on Monday, HarperCollins said.

He had a successful career as a novelist alongside politics and was made a life peer in 1992 as Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare, becoming the Conservatives’ choice to fight for the party in the first London mayoral election.

But his campaign ended when his political career crashed in 2001 with the disgrace of his being imprisoned for four years for perjury and perverting the course of justice.

An Old Bailey jury found that he had lied in a libel action he had brought against The Star newspaper 13 years earlier, in which he was awarded £500,000 ($660,000) damages.

He was released early in 2003 and returned to the House of Lords until he retired in 2024.

Archer made millions out of his best-selling novels, most notably “Kane And Abel,” after his first publishing success with “Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less” in 1976.

HarperCollins said the author had met and signed books for hundreds of fans at a sold-out event with broadcaster Gyles Brandreth at the Leicester Square Theatre in central London on Sunday.

Writing on X, Brandreth said: “Just yesterday I did a show with Jeffrey Archer to celebrate his new novel – he said it was to be his last.

“He was in the most wonderful, ebullient form and had such a great reception from a packed house.

“He was funny, engaging, and self-deprecating – a great storyteller to the last.”

Archer was due to be at the Cheltenham Festival on Saturday to discuss his final novel, “Adam And Eve,” which is published on Tuesday.

He and his wife Mary Archer celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year.

They had two sons and five grandchildren.