Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

Some are more guilty than other

Rod Liddle says that Labour wants to keep Jeffrey Archer in jail because he is a hate figure from the days of Tory hegemony

issue 14 June 2003

Dig up the cricket pitch and chain yourself to the railings. Fling yourself in front of the monarch’s horse. For the time has come to campaign for the release of Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare. You may hate the man and think him undeserving of your time and effort – but believe me, an injustice is being perpetrated.

Archer is up for parole pretty soon, but he won’t get it if David Blunkett and the Home Office have their way. Already Mr Blunkett’s office has written to Martin Narey, the commissioner for corrective services, suggesting that Archer stay inside for a good deal longer – until December – and that parole be denied. Or at least this is alleged to have happened. Needless to say, the Home Office denies all knowledge and says that the letter in question, published by the Sunday Mirror, was a forgery. Yeah, sure, right.

The crime for which Jeffrey may be denied his parole is little more than a technicality.

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