Archer's life in pictures

1 of 12 As Archer's jail term comes to an end his colourful life is under the spotlight again - like this meeting with the Beatles

2 of 12 As an Oxford athlete in 1964, the over-eager Archer was notorious for false starts

3 of 12 He met Mary in Oxford, the couple married in 1966 and are still together

4 of 12 As a Conservative MP for Louth in Lincolnshire Archer dreamed of high office, 1969

5 of 12 But he only managed to rise as high as Tory deputy chairman, under the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

6 of 12 1987 libel case: Jeffrey wins record damages and denies sleeping with a prostitute, but the past was to catch up with him

7 of 12 Archer's glamour and skill as a fundraiser kept him at the top of the Tory party, here alongside Prime Minister John Major

8 of 12 Archer was made a Tory Lord. He keeps his title despite being jailed for perjury but will no longer sit on the Tory benches

9 of 12 Approaching scandal saw Archer scrap his attempt to become London mayor in 2000, leaving Ken Livingstone with an easy victory

10 of 12 Art imitating life: Rehearsing his role in his own play, the courtroom drama The Accused, in 2000

11 of 12 Archer arrives at the Old Bailey with his sons where he was found guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice

12 of 12 Archer in the library at Hollesley Bay Prison shortly before his release