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Jeffrey Archer hero of the people

Jack Duckworth | 23.07.2003 21:12 | Liverpool

Ricky Tomlison comments on Jeffrey Archer

HE'S spent some time in prison himself - so Ricky Tomlinson is more than qualified to talk about Jeffrey Archer's release. "When I look at Jeffrey Archer being released I just shake my head," he says, referring to the two years he spent in prison in Stafford for his role in the builders' strike. "It makes me feel sick because he hasn't really been in prison - he's been on a holiday for two years. "I never got weekend breaks. I never ever got privileges. I had it very, very hard. I was verbally and physically abused there. There were hunger strikes and real misery - now that was the cold reality. He was treated like a Lord."Ricky's comments come in advance of his autobiography, Ricky, due out on October 4. And in a comical nod to his past, he is toying with the idea of launching it in a prison - Colin's Bridewell."It would be a laugh but there's nothing funny about the chapters on prison life. "There's a lot in the book about my own harrowing time in prison. Some things I have never talked about before."

Jack Duckworth