Author and former politician Jeffrey Archer dies aged 86

Bestselling author and former politician Jeffrey Archer has died at the age of 86.

Archer sold more than 300 million books in his five-decade writing career, including the Clifton Chronicles and Kane and Abel, and 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 between writing sessions.

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.

Jeffrey Archer obituary: successful novelist, disgraced politician and convicted liar

Archer was born in north London on 15 April 1940 but would quickly move to Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, where his family bought a house from John Cleese's mother.

In 1969, Archer was elected MP for the Lincolnshire constituency of Louth.

He served as an MP for five years before becoming Conservative Party deputy chairman.