Lord Jeffrey Archer

Author, former politician, businessman and renowned after dinner speaker Lord Jeffrey Archer is one of the most infamous men of recent political history, a number of scandals and high profile legal cases, not to mention a gaol sentence, and Lord Archer has experienced both the highs and lows of British politics. Available for hire as a political speaker, Lord Jeffrey Archer is an entertaining and controversial guest ideal for a variety of after dinner speaker events. Beginning his political career as the Member of Parliament for Louth, Lincolnshire in 1969 Lord Archer has been actively involved in British politics for more than forty years, he has held a variety of positions including as a leading politics speaker and that of Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party whilst Margaret Thatcher held office. Both periods of his career as an elected official were cut short however following national scandals, the first of which left him bankrupt after a fraudulent investment scam. After resigning as an MP Lord Jeffrey Archer embarked on his writing career, publishing his first novel, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, in 1976 which was later adapted for both television and radio.

Since the publication of his first book Lord Archer has written more than fifteen novels, several plays, and numerous short stories and during his time in prison, several non-fiction books that detail his experiences. Archer returned to governmental politics in 1985 buoyed by his popularity as a novelist and keynote speaker at the Conservative grassroots level. Archer’s second stint in British government was dogged by further scandal however, beginning with uproar following Archer’s comments that “many young, unemployed people were simply unwilling to find work” and later allegations by The Daily Star that Archer paid for sex acts with a female prostitute. In his work as a politics speaker, Lord Jeffrey Archer does not shy away from the scandal that overshadowed his political career, he is an outspoken and confident keynote speaker who not only uses his experiences to entertain audiences but also finds humour in his own disgrace.

In 1992 Archer was given a life peerage as Baron of Western-Super-Mare, following a recommendation by then Prime Minister John Major. Two years later it was alleged that Lord Jeffrey Archer was involved in insider trading following the purchase of shares of Anglia Television – where his wife Mary then acted as director – shortly before the sale of the broadcasting company to MAI. Archer sold the shares, purchased on “behalf of a friend” for a profit of more than £77,000. An inquiry by the Stock Exchange declared that Archer would not be prosecuted due to insufficient evidence. In 1999 Lord Jeffrey Archer was selected as the Conservative Party candidate for the London Mayoral Election, however claims by the News of the World that Archer had committed perjury during a libel case in 1987 caused Lord Archer to withdraw his candidacy. Such allegations proved the final straw for the Conservative Party and in February 2000 Lord Jeffrey Archer was expelled from the party by leader William Hague. Archer has continued to work as a politics speaker despite this fact however, not only campaigning but also offering insights into the inner workings of government.

September that year Lord Archer starred in a stage production of his play The Accused, which details the trial of a man accused of murder and assigns the role of jury to the theatre’s audience. At the same time Archer was himself accused of perjury, his former friend Ted Francis of perverting the course of justice. In July the following year Lord Jeffrey Archer was found guilty and sentenced to four years imprisonment, Archer began his sentence at Belmarsh Prison and moved to HM Prison North Camp, an open prison in October 2001. Whilst in prison Archer continued to write both fiction and non-fiction books and was notably visited by a number of his high profile friends including Donald Sinden and performer Barry Humphries (better known as Dame Edna Everage). Following his release in 2003 Lord Jeffrey Archer continued to appear in the national press, allegations by the government of Equatorial Guinea emerged, claiming that Archer was a financier of the failed coup d'état against them, whilst in 2013 Archer once again made headlines when he announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Lord Jeffrey Archer has worked consistently as a politics speaker over the last ten years, making appearances at a variety of conferences and after dinner speaker events.