Jeffrey Archer was known for his high-octane thrillers and sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. (File Photo)Best-selling British novelist and former politician Jeffrey Archer has died at the age of 86, his publisher HarperCollins said on Monday.Archer, who was jailed for lying in a high-profile libel case, was known for his high-octane thrillers and sold more than 300 million copies worldwide.Among his popular novels were “Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less” and 1979’s “Kane & Abel”. Last of his novels, “Adam and Eve”, is due to be published on Tuesday.In a statement, HarperCollins’ UK CEO and Archer’s editor Kate Elton said: “We’re all devastated to have lost a writer who has brought joy to generations of readers — and a true friend.”Born in north London on April 15, 1940, Archer soon moved to Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, according to the BBC.In 1969, Archer was elected MP for the Lincolnshire constituency of Louth. After serving as a lawmaker for five years, he went on to become Conservative Party deputy chairman under then-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher in the mid-1980s, the BBC reported.However, his political career hit a roadblock in 2001 when he was sent to jail. He was found to have lied in a libel action he had brought against The Star newspaper, in which he was awarded £500,000 in damages.Story continues below this adHe returned to the House of Lords after being released in 2003 and served until he retired in 2024.— with inputs from Reuters