Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch described Archer’s death as “devastating news”.
“We will miss him very much,” she told BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, adding that he had texted her earlier on Monday.
Badenoch said he was “very much loved by the Conservative family”, adding: “I’m glad that I saw him recently.”
Speaking about what she described as “other parts of his life”, she said: “He did serve his time, he made amends, and he wanted to do a lot of good in the world.”
Former Conservative prime minister Sir John Major said “we have lost a man who lived one of the most remarkable lives of our age”, and that he will be “much missed – and long remembered”.
Archer’s last novel, Adam and Eve, was released on Tuesday.
Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth told BBC Breakfast that he was with Archer on Sunday. “I mean, literally 72 hours ago, doing a show in the West End of London celebrating this book, the publication, and he was in great form.
“He didn’t really acknowledge that he’d changed much since being in prison, but I think he became a nicer person in some ways, a gentler, a milder person after the prison experience.”
Former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith described Archer as “a remarkable man who did everything at full bore”, adding: “There were simply no half measures with him.”
Other former ministers also paid tribute. Sajid Javid said Archer had been a “dear friend”, while Sir Jeremy Hunt said Archer had “showed enormous kindness with his advice about how to become a writer”.
James Cleverly said the author and politician had been “a huge personality and fantastic storyteller”, and that he had been very supportive when his wife Suzie was recovering from cancer.
Reform UK member and former Conservative minister Nadim Zahawi, wrote: “Jeffrey Archer was a dear friend and an extraordinary human being. His gift for storytelling was matched by his wit, warmth and boundless energy. Life was never dull in Jeffrey’s company.”
