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November 1974: A British MP walks into the sea and disappears, seemingly drowned. Later, John Stonehouse, the former Labour cabinet minister, was found alive - on the other side of the world - revealing an extraordinary story of political intrigue, Cold War spies and more, concluding with a sensational trial at the Old Bailey.
Was it the result of a nervous breakdown as he claimed or something far more sinister that led to his dramatic vanishing?
Stonehouse is the definitive biography of this remarkable story, written by Julian Hayes, the son of the disgraced MP's nephew, who is uniquely placed to tell the story of this charismatic but deeply flawed politician. During his forensic research, Hayes unearthed secret reports in the Prague archives written by Stonehouse's former spymasters and spoke with those who knew the MP.
About the author
JULIAN HAYES is a criminal and child-care lawyer with his firm, Berris Law, in London. He has undertaken many of the most high-profile and serious cases seen in the criminal courts of the last twenty years, most notably the 'Ricin Case' terrorist trial in 2005, the Graff jewellery robbery and most recently the Vietnamese lorry deaths case.
Summary
'The minister's nephew recounts an extraordinary life . . . a vivid account'
HENRY DE QUETTEVILLE, Telegraph
'Completely absorbing and told with huge compassion, integrity and skill'
CAROL ANN LEE, author of The Murders at White House Farm and A Passion For Poison
'What a book. I didn't have to turn the pages. They turned themselves I literally consumed the book in just a few hungry sittings . . . Julian Hayes is perfectly placed to tell this story, particularly it's captivating human side . . . most definitely a must read'
DR SALEYHA AHSAN, filmmaker and journalist, Cambridge
In November 1974, British MP and former cabinet minister John Stonehouse walked into the sea off a beach in Miami and disappeared, seemingly drowned.
Then he was found - on the other side of the world, in Australia - and his extraordinary story began to come to light: a Labour cabinet minister and a devoted family man; also in a long-term affair with his secretary, and a spy for the Czech State Security agency, who had committed fraud and attempted to fake his own death to escape catastrophic business failures.
Was it a mental breakdown as he later claimed? Or were there more sinister reasons for his dramatic disappearance?
This is the definitive biography of Stonehouse, written by Julian Hayes, who, as the son of Stonehouse's nephew and lawyer, Michael Hayes, is uniquely placed to tell the story of this charismatic but deeply flawed politician. As a criminal lawyer in London, Hayes has used his in-depth knowledge and experience of the criminal courts, not least the Old Bailey, where the Stonehouse trial took place, to forensically examine Stonehouse's story, including Czech defector Josef Frolík's claim that he was a spy.
Hayes has unearthed secret reports in the archives in Prague written by Stonehouse's former spymasters. He has also gleaned much from family members and lawyers involved in the trial and from the trial documents and other government papers held in archives in the UK and Australia.,
Foreword
In November 1974, British MP and former cabinet minister John Stonehouse walked into the sea off a beach in Miami and disappeared, seemingly drowned. This is his extraordinary story.
Additional text
The minister's nephew recounts an extraordinary life . . . 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.
