Exclusive will not be published in book format.

I think when you've lost an election by 179, there's going to be a period of time after eighteen years in government when you can't do anything right, and people just kick you for the sake of it, will never admit they voted Conservative.

And I did wonder - because it's now three years ago since I left prison - whether there would come a time when I would forget it, or it would be in the past as anything else might be - no, it's there every day of my life.

It is often spur-of-the-moment decisions, sometimes made by others, that can change our whole lives.

There are defining moments in one's life when you learn about yourself, and you deposit that knowledge in the experience account, so you can draw on it at some later date.

At the end of my trial, I was rather hoping the judge would send me to Australia for the rest of my life.

What I have found is that real friends stand by you.