Tributes paid after former MP and author Jeffrey Archer dies at 86

The bestselling author and former politician Jeffrey Archer has died aged 86. 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, Harper Collins said. Alongside his political career he was a wildly successful novelist, selling 300 million books during his five-decade career, and being made a life peer in 1992. His political career was paused 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 damages. He was released early in 2003 and returned to the House of Lords until he retired in 2024. Kate Elton, Harper Collins UK chief executive and Archer’s editor, said: “It has been one of the great privileges of my publishing life to have been Jeffrey Archer’s editor. “He was the master storyteller and an editor’s dream – phenomenally hard-working, utterly committed to completing draft after draft to get every word as perfect as possible, and a true champion of the ‘team’ nature of great publishing.” Archer made millions out of his best-selling novels, most notably 1979’s Kane and Abel, a modern retelling of the Biblical story of two warring brothers. Lord Archer photographed with Margaret Thatcher in 1991 while taking donations for a campaign or Kurdish refugees (Photo: Rebecca Naden/PA Wire)Harper Collins 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. He had his wife Mary had celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year. They had two sons and five grandchildren. The former Conservative chancellor and current Reform UK MP for Stratford-on-Avon Nadhim Zahawi posted a tribute to Lord Archer on X. He wrote: “Jeffrey Archer was a dear friend and an extraordinary human being. His gift for storytelling was matched by his wit, warmth and boundless energy. Life was never dull in Jeffrey’s company. As a charity auctioneer, he was a force of nature: commanding a room, making people laugh and persuading them to dig deeper. “He used that remarkable talent to raise millions for charitable causes, leaving a legacy of generosity that reaches far beyond his books. Behind the celebrated author was a man with an enormous heart, fiercely loyal to his friends and generous with his time. “My love and deepest condolences go to Mary and the whole family. Jeffrey, it was a privilege to call you my friend. You were one of a kind. May you rest in eternal peace.” This is a breaking story and is being updated