Former politician and novelist Jeffrey Archer dies aged 86

Kane and Abel author died "suddenly and peacefully" at home between writing sessions

Jeffrey Archer speaking at the Thomas Crosbie Holdings Limited annual dinner at 97 South Mall, Cork, in March 2009. Irish Examiner Archive picture: Brian Lougheed

Former politician Jeffrey Archer has died aged 86, his publisher said in a statement.

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.

He had a successful career as a novelist alongside politics and was made a life peer in 1992.

His political career was paused in 2001 when he was 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.

Archer made millions out of his best-selling novels, most notably Kane and Abel.

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.

Former Tory minister Nadhim Zahawi paid tribute to Archer, writing on X: “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.

“Jeffrey, it was a privilege to call you my friend. You were one of a kind. May you rest in eternal peace.”

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.”