John Stonehouse

John Stonehouse (1926 - 1988) was a British politician and minister under Harold Wilson. Stonehouse is notable for faking his own death.

He served as Postmaster General under Wilson, but after the defeat in the general election of 1970, he was not appointed to the Shadow Cabinet. He set up various companies in order to try and provide an income. By 1974 these were mostly in financial trouble and he had resorted to cooking the books. He was aware that the Department for Trade and Industry were looking at his affairs, and decided that his best choice would be to flee.

He maintained the pretence of normality until his pretended suicide in 1974, and left a pile of clothes on a Miami beach. He was presumed to be dead Obviously no body was ever washed ashore, as he was meanwhile en route to Australia, hoping to set up a new life with his mistress and secretary. He was discovered by coincidence, the Australian police thinking he was Lord Lucan. Six months later he was deported to the UK, and was tried and sentenced to prison for seven years for fraud. As a result of this he was expelled from the House of Commons, although of course a by-election had taken place in the meantime.

He was released from prison in 1979, wrote a number of books, and died in 1988 after a period of illness.