When did Jeremy Thorpe die and what happened to him after the Norman Scott trial?
THE BBC has launched a drama, A Very English Scandal, based on the true story of the disgraced British politician
THE BBC has created a drama based around the life of disgraced British politician Jeremy Thorpe.
Here we detail exactly what happened during the scandal which saw Thorpe become the first British politician to stand trial for conspiracy and incitement to murder.
Who was Jeremy Thorpe?
Jeremy Thorpe was born in 1929 in Surrey and was elected leader of the Liberal Party in 1967.
As leader of the Liberals in the 1960s and 1970s he became one of the most recognisable leaders of the day.
He almost took the Liberals into Coalition with the Tories in 1974 on the promise of a Cabinet post.
Thorpe’s first wife Caroline was killed in a car crash shortly after the 1970 General Election.
Three years later he married Marion Stein, a noted concert pianist and divorced wife of the Queen’s first cousin, the Earl of Harewood.
But he was at the centre of one of the biggest sex scandals of the last century after allegations that he hired a hit man to kill and silence a former male lover.
Along with three other men, he was later charged with conspiracy to murder Norman Scott.
He walked free but all but disappeared from public life after the case.
Thorpe did, however, give advice to then Lib Dem chief Nick Clegg about how he should approach negotiations for the coalition in 2008.
The former politician passed away in 2014 aged 85 after three decades spent battling Parkinson’s Disease.
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.”
“His grandchildren and great grandchildren will miss him dearly, as will I.”
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What did Jeremy Thorpe stand trial for?
Thorpe appeared at the Old Bailey on charges of conspiring to murder Norman Scott – who claimed the pair were in a sexual relationship.
The trial was triggered after a gunman was said to have been hired to shoot stable lad turned male model Scott.
He shot dead his Great Dane, Rinka, before attempting to kill him, but he was thwarted when the gun jammed, reports say.
Thorpe’s political career ended when he faced trial on charges of conspiracy and incitement to murder.
He stepped down as leader in 1976 and was cleared of the charges in 1979.
Speaking in 2008, Mr Thorpe said: “If it happened now I think … the public would be kinder. Back then they were very troubled by it.
“It offended their set of values.”