Archer set to be freed after two years in jail

Disgraced British peer Jeffrey Archer was expected to leave prison today after serving two years and two days of his four-year jail term.

His first appearance as a free man was expected to take place early this morning as he leaves Hollesley Bay open prison, in Suffolk, UK.

He was then due to begin the long process of attempting to re-establish himself in polite society.

Last night he thanked all those who had supported him through his prison ordeal.

A statement issued by the peer confirmed he would be making a speech to the Howard League for Penal Reform in September.

The statement said: “I want to thank my wife Mary and my sons, William and James, for their unwavering and unstinting support during this unhappy period in my life.

“I should also like to thank the many friends who took the trouble to visit me in prison, as well as countless members of the public who sent letters, cards and gifts.

“I shall not be giving any interviews for the foreseeable future.

“However, I have accepted an invitation to address the Howard League for Penal Reform’s conference at New College Oxford in September, and several requests to do charity auctions in the run-up to Christmas.”

Archer was sentenced to four years for perjury and perverting the course of justice – faking an alibi in the libel case involving the prostitute Monica Coghlan.

It is now thought he may be contemplating a career as a penal reformer, as former British Tory Cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken did after his stint of porridge three years ago.

“I would very much like to see him become a powerful voice for penal reform,” said founder of the ex-offenders’ charity Unlock, Mark Leech.

“He should ditch all the dogma and policies he gave credence to under the last Tory government now that he has seen prison from the inside.”

Mr Leech, who served 14 years for armed robbery before becoming a respected campaigner and author, added: “Lord Archer has been treated extremely favourably.

“He was out of Belmarsh within three weeks, sent to a jail 20 minutes from his own front door when other inmates are hundreds of miles from home, he messed things up, was sent back to closed conditions for a few more weeks before going back to a cosy open jail.

“The Prison Service should be commended – I just wish they could do these things for the other 74,000 in jail today.”

It emerged last week that Archer, 63, had asked probation officers to register his multi-million pound Thames-side flat as his home.

The move was unexpected because Lady Archer spends nearly all her time at their country residence, the £1.5m (€2.1m) Old Vicarage at Grantchester, near Cambridge.

Probation sources said Archer planned to be supervised by probation teams in London.

Director of Britain's Prison Reform Trust Juliet Lyon said: “Lord Archer is a lucky man, unlike most prisoners he leaves jail to-day with a home and work to go to and the chance to talk about his experiences in that dark, closed world called prison.

“The Prison Reform Trust calls on government to turn its attention to the 90,000 prisoners released each year with little hope of resettlement in the community.”

His penthouse flat on the Albert Embankment was the scene of his champagne and shepherd’s pie parties for influential journalists, top politicians and other movers and shakers.

It boasts views of the Houses of Parliament and the Tate Britain.

One of the conditions of his licence will be that he lives at his “designated address”.

He will need his probation officer’s permission to spend the night away – even if it is to visit his wife and sons at the 17th century riverside property in Grantchester.

Archer’s choice could indicate he plans to attempt to re-establish himself in the political and social scene.

The former deputy chairman of the British Conservative Party will have to report to probation officers on a regular basis for a year.

For the first month he will have to make an appointment to see them once a week, then fortnightly for the next two months and then monthly.

He will not be allowed to travel abroad, except in exceptional circumstances.

And his probation officer must approve any kind of paid work Archer undertakes.

This is likely to include the earning of royalties from the second volume of his prison diaries, expected to be announced by his publishers next week.

Reoffending or doing anything which damages his re-integration into the community would see Archer sent back to jail.