Author and disgraced politician Jeffrey Archer dies aged 86

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Archer sold more than 300 million books in his five-decade writing career, including the Clifton Chronicles and Kane and Abel, and has often set the novels in his home town of Wellington, Somerset.

In a statement, Archer's publisher HarperCollins said the author died "suddenly and peacefully at home" on Monday.

The former Conservative MP was jailed for perjury in 2001 after being found guilty of lying and cheating in his 1987 libel case against the Daily Star.

Archer was made a life peer in 1992 but his political career was paused in 2001 when he was jailed for four years perjury and perverting the course of justice.

He was found to have lied in libel action he had brought against The Star newspaper, in which he awarded £500,000 in damages.

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

His last book, Adam and Eve, is set to be released this month, HarperCollins added, describing him as a "master storyteller" whose readers "meant everything to him".

"Jeffrey's career is the stuff of publishing legend," the statement continued.

"He spent a total of 14 years and five months on the Sunday Times bestseller lists and 5 ½ years on the New York Times bestseller lists, selling 300 million books in 119 countries in 49 languages."

"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."