A compelling read
From Amazon
How does a Peer of the Realm and former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, sentenced to four years for perjury and perverting the course of justice, cope with the initial 21 days in Belmarsh (Hellmarsh) High Security (Category A) Prison, where many of the inmates are murderers serving life sentences? What is most striking is that, apart from the one volley of threatening abuse which he reports, the other prisoners are quite friendly to him, and they seem to welcome the interest he takes in them and their stories (which they know will figure in his Prison Diary, the keeping of which kept him sane). Archer shows great compassion for most of them, and he receives a touching letter from one of the inmates, telling him that this has not gone unnoticed. It is astonishing how some of them looked after him, and how much they trusted him. They told him not only their stories, but also all the tricks of how to cope, and even of how and why drugs are introduced into prisons. That long section alone should be an eye-opener for the innocent reader. One would think responsible ministers and prison authorities know all about this - but one does wonder. (See also my review on Vols. II and III)