Stonehouse: Cabinet Minister, Fraudster, Spy

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This book is supposed to be non fiction and yet there are no references and, it provides no evidence whatsoever. I was gripped and completely absorbed with the book, the story has been captured and conveyed skilfully. I read the paperback edition and have since compared to the original hardback as reference was made to some editing issues and it seems those have been dealt with.

You’ve been living in London illegally for the past two years, having been brought from Algeria to the UK by your father and then left with a friend. The narrative fascinates you from the beginning; even if you already know the story, it is written in a way that allows you to immerse yourself in a world full of spies, lies, and ambitions on the darker side of politics. He also needed to see Sidali’s story all the way through from him being acquitted, his fight for freedom, struggle to remain in this country, and finally his qualification as a lawyer and to make a life for himself in this country.Stonehouse finally resigned as an MP from prison after he was jailed on several counts of deception and fraud. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you.

Hayes has unearthed secret reports in the archives in Prague written by Stonehouse's former spymasters. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others.As a teenager in the 1970s, current political affairs weren't something I was particularly interested in.

His legal expertise makes sense of criminal proceedings, but while he beautifully lays out the factual detail, it is the human side of this very personal story that is so captivating. The book is a vivid account of how, in the 1960s and 1970s, Stonehouse - once tipped as a future Labour prime minister - betrayed his country, made a mockery of domestic and international law, ripped off investors and friends, humiliated both Harold Wilson and Parliament and shattered his own family and then, when the jaws of his self-made trap began to close around him, organised and executed a fake-your-own-death escape of such breathtaking chutzpah, he later tried to explain it as the work of a second personality living within him. The next time you are stuck in traffic or are experiencing some other type of stress,” says Sarah Pressman, “you might try to hold your face in a smile for a moment. Exiled to the backbenches during Wilson’s second period in government, clouds of suspicion had been gathering around Stonehouse over both his financial dealings and his relationship with the Soviet bloc. As for Czech intelligence officers who named him as a spy after they defected to the west, she argues that their word is not to be trusted either.It was incontestable that he had faked his own death, but he was still holding on to the title of MP 20 months later. A fascinating look into the mind of a conflicted politician/humanist who reacted strangely to a crisis point.