Former Liberal Party Leader Jeremy Thorpe Dies

Tributes are paid to the controversial leader who was forced out of politics after being accused of plotting to kill a male model

Former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe - whose career ended in disgrace as he stood trial for conspiracy to murder - has died, aged 85.

An able and popular politician, Mr Thorpe led the party in the 1960s and 1970s, but died after a three-decades long battle with Parkinson's Disease.

He was forced to resign as party leader in 1976 after an acquaintance, Norman Scott, claimed to have had an affair with him in the early 1960s - when homosexual acts were illegal in Britain.

Mr Thorpe denied the affair and also pleaded not guilty when he was subsequently accused of conspiracy and incitement to murder Scott, a former male model.

He was rarely seen in public following his acquittal in 1979, when he became an increasingly gaunt and slight figure.

Deputy Prime Minister and current Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said: "Jeremy Thorpe's leadership and resolve were the driving force that continued the Liberal revival that began under Jo Grimond.

"Jeremy oversaw some of the party's most famous by-election victories and his involvement with the anti-apartheid movement and the campaign for Britain's membership of the common market were ahead of his time."

Mr Thorpe led a quiet life at his Devon home after his acquittal, which came shortly after he lost his seat as MP at the General Election.

He briefly took part in Paddy Ashdown's campaign in the south west of England during the 1992 general election campaign, but his ghostlike appearance shocked those who had not seen him for around 12 years.

Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said: "Jeremy Thorpe's enforced resignation as leader of the Liberal Party and his subsequent departure from Parliament should not obscure the fact that in his day he was an outstanding parliamentarian with a coruscating wit, and a brilliant campaigner on the stump whose interest and warmth made him a firm favourite with the public."

He added that Mr Thorpe "bore his long illness with courage and determination" and never lost his "consuming interest" in politics.

Liberal Democrat former minister Sir Nick Harvey, who represents Mr Thorpe's former constituency of North Devon, described him as a "towering force in shaping the political landscape of the late 20th and early 21st centuries".

"Jeremy Thorpe was a colossal figure in the revival of the Liberal cause in post-war Britain and today's Lib Dem politicians continue to feast on his legacy," he said.

"His charisma, energy and innovative campaigning lit up his generation of British politics."

Mr Thorpe's son, Rupert, said the politician "was a devoted husband to my two mothers, Caroline, who died tragically in 1970, and Marion who passed away in March and had raised me and stood by him through everything".

"His grandchildren and great grandchildren will miss him dearly, as will I," he said.