Disgraced Tory peer and author Jeffrey Archer walked out of prison on parole on Monday morning after serving half of his four-year sentence for perjury and perverting the course of justice.

Sixty three-year-old Archer left Hellesley Bay open prison near Woodbridge, Suffolk, in his son's BMW, followed by cameramen on motorcycles. He did not speak to the waiting reporters.

Lord Archer had been convicted of lying during his successful 1987 libel action against the Daily Star newspaper, which claimed he had hired a prostitute.

On his arrival home in Grantchester, Cambridgeshire, Archer and his wife Mary posed for photographs before heading into their house arm-in-arm.
                 
On the eve of his release, Archer had thanked his family and members of the public for their support during his imprisonment.

The celebrated author, who has had brushes with scandal, financial ruin and the law, remained in news even during the time he was behind the bars.

He was found guilty of violating prison regulations when he attended a party at the home of a former Conservative cabinet minister. A prison officer resigned and a police officer came under investigation because they had joined Archer for lunch at a restaurant.

Archer also admitted breaching prison regulations by identifying other inmates in the first instalment of his prison diaries.