On 25 March 1988, Stonehouse collapsed on set during an edition of Central Weekend in Birmingham during the filming of a programme about missing people. Sheila Buckley, and acted as a spy for the Czech Secret Service in the 1960s. Obituary Of Sheila Buckley Stonehouse, the mistress of rogue MP John Stonehouse. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. He has never been found. My father booked into an expensive hotel and that afternoon and the following day made several visits to two banks, withdrawing and depositing large sums of money using the names of both Markham and Mildoon. Nobody had any inkling of his dependence on these drugs. Stonehouse was eventually arrested in Melbourne and deported back to the UK, where he remained a Labour MP because the party did not expel him, owing to their narrow majority in the House of . John married his mistress, Sheila Elizabeth Buckley, in Hampshire on January 31, 1981. A honeytrap executed by the Czech secret services has been substituted for the real-life slow insidious grooming of the Labour MP for Wednesbury and Walsall North, he said. Barbara asked if she'd been having an affair with my father and Sheila broke down in sobs, saying 'Oh dear, oh dear' over and over again with mascara running down her cheeks. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes and Emer Heatley. John Stonehouse was a rising star in the Labour Party during the 1960s, tipped by some to be its eventual leader and a potential Prime Minister. "What happened to John Stonehouse is the stuff of legend," said Macfadyen, who takes on the lead role. But what happened to Stonehouses second wife, and where is she now? I'm also a video game enthusiast, always trying out something new. It transpired that they had met up. 'There aren't the checks and balances that there needs to be in order for transparency and integrity,' Hayes said. Her auburn locks have been replaced by grey and there is little hint of the sparkle in the green eyes that once captivated Stonehouse, the subject of two new biographies, who, despite being 21 years her senior, embarked on a torrid affair with her when she was working as his parliamentary secretary in the 1970s. They were also keeping the flat he had begun renting under constant surveillance. I just really wanted to give equal weight to all those things.". Stonehouse recounted the outrageously true story of high-flying Labour MP John Stonehouse (played by Matthew Macfadyen), who attempted to make a fresh start after seemingly drowning off a beach in Miami back in 1974. The script was written by John Preston, whose credits include A Very English Scandal, about the Jeremy Thorpe affair, which became a TV drama starring Hugh Grant, and The Dig, about the archaeological site Sutton Hoo, which was made into a 2021 film starring Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan. Great-nephew of MP who faked death in 1974 says there was psychological grooming by Czech spies but no honeytrap. The former Labour cabinet minister faked his own death and was jailed for seven years for fraud, but his loyal secretary-turned-wife Sheila Buckley stood by him to the end. All rights reserved. He knew pilots, airport staff and airline executives. Sheila asked whether she should let the family know he was alive, and he'd said 'no'. Starring Matthew Macfadyen as Stonehouse, the drama tells the story of how the MP vanished from a Florida hotel . On Christmas Eve that year, Mrs Mildoon read on the front page of her local paper that John Stonehouse had been found in Australia using the name Clive Mildoon. Upon his release, he married Buckley, and the couple were together until he died in 1988. In a trick borrowed from Frederick Forsyth's Day of the Jackal, he obtained fake passports using birth certificates of two dead constituents and wired himself money in their names in Australia as he embarked on a new life. He left a pile of clothes on a hotel beach in Miami to fake his own death in 1974. Succession star Matthew Macfadyen leads the cast of new ITV1 drama Stonehouse as the titular politician who faked his own death in a bid to start a new life in Australia. The discovery left his wife Barbara devastated after learning of his betrayal. 'I could see it all clearly,' he later wrote. They stayed together until Stonehouses death from a major heart attack. Looking back at the beach, he sees his clothes folded up. Facing Charges of alleging fraud, forgery and conspiracy involving 70,000. he was refused . Hayes was nine years old when Stonehouse faked his death. 'Julia is understandably very defensive, she gets very angry at the suggestion her father was ever a spy', Hayes told MailOnline. Succession star Matthew Macfadyen played disgraced Labour MP John Stonehouse with the series charting his spectacular fall from grace. On behalf of my father, I apologise to the Markham and Mildoon families and hope they can accept that this bizarre behaviour was only brought about by terrible stress and the effects of mind-twisting prescribed drugs. I send him my undying love and respect.. 'I don't buy it. ITVs latest three-part drama Stonehouse tells the true story of Labour MP John Stonehouse, played by Successions Matthew Macfayden, who faked his death to set up a new life in Australia with his secretary Sheila Buckley (Emer Heatley). They stayed together until Stonehouse's death from a major heart attack. In exchange for political inside information, he would eventually be paid a tidy 5,000 (76,000 in today's money), in cash and untraceable. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. John Stonehouse MP faked his own death - and his family can't agree on the truth As the MP who faked his own death in 1974 comes to the small screen as an ITV drama, his relations are still at. But he provided the Czechs with information and got a lot of money from them. Mrs Buckley is about to become much more public after the release of two highly publicized true crime . Sheila, who was 21 years his junior, and John welcomed their son James William John in 1982. Stonehouse died of a heart attack aged 62 on April 14, 1988, in Southampton. A brainstorm, as he described it, brought on by the demands of his profession, was what inspired him to his weird escapade. A week or so later, my father visited a Mrs Mildoon, the widow of a man named Donald Clive Mildoon, at her newsagent's shop in Walsall Road, Wednesbury, introducing himself as John Stonehouse MP and saying he'd read of her husband's death in the newspapers. He'd been a Minister of Aviation, worked on the development of Concorde and even negotiated the sales of the engines powering the very planes he was flying around in. For those who have yet to catch up on the drama, it follows government minister John Stonehouse, who one day in 1974, left his clothes neatly folded up on a Miami beach and walked into the sea, intending to fake his own death. He is also a regular on Mogadon, a benzodiazepine with well-recognized side effects including depression, impaired judgment, delusions and schizophrenia. Little did she know that this was exactly what he'd planned to do. He was not wearing any kind of disguise. But the net was closing in. I indulge in all things creative. Hayes, who has clear childhood memories of Stonehouse and the impact of his disappearance in 1974 on the family, said little of the dramatised version was strictly factual. My mother drove Sheila to an Underground station and, when they pulled over, Sheila said: 'You may as well know it all. Hayes also noted Russia and China creeping into the political affairs of Western nations, and politicians playing into the hands of big business. On the morning of Christmas Eve, my father went to a bank then ran to catch a waiting train. 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He underwent open heart surgery on 7 November 1978 which lasted for six hours. At no time did he use 'I', just 'he' or 'him'. This wasn't the behaviour of an arch criminal. Stonehouse is known for its bombed-out attempt to fake its own demise in 1974, which was discovered following gossip that Stonehouse was the last missing murder suspect, Lord Lucan. Theres no way on earth that anybody would swallow it as a plot line. They said a girl lived there, and read out some names. My handsome, generous and brilliant father had seemed in good spirits that night, and my mother was relieved. According to the series, Stonehouse, a high-ranking official in Harold Wilsons administration, faked his death by swimming into the sea after disappearing from the beach of a lavish resort in Florida circa November 1974. I didn't talk to Barbara, who is still alive, as is Sheila. My father's bathroom cabinet was full of bottles of Mandrax, a drug then widely prescribed for insomnia and anxiety but now banned for more than 30 years because of its negative impact on mental health. All About The Stonehouse Scandal Revealed. A British politician fakes his own death. RME113E5 - Jul. Stonehouse and Buckley stayed together following his arrest and sentencing, and Buckley would regularly visit him in prison. Sheila Buckley, former secretary to British MP John Stonehouse, outside the Horseferry Road Magistrates' Court, London, 1976. John is widely remembered for his unsuccessful attempt at faking his death in 1974, leaving a pile of clothes in Miami Beach to make it appear he had drowned or been eaten by a shark. Leading the cast as John Stonehouse is Matthew Macfadyen (Pride & Prejudice), with his real-life partner Keeley Hawes (The Durrells) playing Stonehouse's wife, Barbara.. They're joined by Emer Heatley (Showtrial) as Stonehouse's mistress Sheila Buckley, Kevin R McNally (The Crown) as Harold Wilson, and Dorothy Atkinson (All Creatures Great and Small) as Betty Boothroyd. All Rights Reserved. Stonehouses daughter Julia maintains that right-wing elements within MI5 made sure the rumour was spread to the press and politicians. Streaming Guide. At a meeting with the producers, he expressed certain views about the drama. "What happened to John Stonehouse is the stuff of legend. The phone call from my father on his earlier US trip saying he 'couldn't take it any more' led my mother to wonder if he'd had a breakdown or killed himself or both. "For all his many flaws as a character, there is an air of innocence about [Stonehouse]. Igor Grabuzov - Plays Alexander Marek. In December 1982, their son James William John was born. The pair had an affair which became public after Stonehouses attempt to fake his death emerged. 'We thought we might have a big, international criminal on our hands,' said one senior officer later. 20:48 EST 10 Jul 2021. Stonehouse and Buckley were extradited and charged with conspiracy, fraud and theft. To support herself after having lost Stonehouse, who has been over two decades older than her, it is said that she is an avid gardener and was employed as an auditor and bookkeeper. 'Why won't they let him die?' Then you'll find out how painful it is to live with an unfaithful man. He was then extradited to Britain, all the while continuing to serve as one of Parliament's most colourful members. Julia has also slammed the ITV drama, branding it disgusting and saying she and her mother - who now goes by Barbara Flexney-Briscoe - were furious. Julia also said how she wished her father had never been caught in Melbourne, Australia and believed had his plans worked out he might still be alive today. guerlain insolence old bottle. Sheila said the calls were difficult to follow because he was speaking about himself in the third person, telling her that 'John' had to get away from the pressures in England. Sheila Buckley was John Stonehouse MP secretary who disappeared with him when he faked his own death in 1974 and fled to Australia. Well soon learn how the young woman was involved in all of this, but in the meanwhile, if youd like to see it as a drama, dont miss Stonehouse, about which additional details will be posted on our website. She spends her days gardening with a partner who does not live with her and working from home as a chartered accountant. "My understanding was that they didn't want to have any involvement in it. 'Pressures became far too great. . Sheila is now in her 80s and is said to leave a sedate life gardening and helping clients with their tax returns, The Daily Mail reported in 2021. 'I didn . Barbara went Down Under on the understanding Sheila wasnt there, however, she was left dismayed when she found the other woman with him. By He knew what he was doing., Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning, Hayes said he pored over detailed files in Czech archives while researching his biography. Work: where is Sheila Buckley now? But shortly afterwards, rumours began swirling that the fund had once topped 1 million, and that approximately 600,000 was missing. In a documentary titled The Real Stonehouse, Metropolitan Police detective inspector David Townley says of Ms Buckley: I thought she was polite a kind, gentle person whod been mesmerised by Stonehouse and dragged into something she shouldnt have got involved in. After stealing the identities of two deceased men in his constituency to create fake passports, Stonehouse flew to Miami, checked into the Fontainebleau hotel and went for a swim, leaving a pile of clothes on the beach. Stonehouse airs on Tuesday 3 January at 9pm on ITV. Given that there were plenty of British passengers on Sheila's flight, and that his face was plastered all over the newspapers, it was a miracle that nobody recognised him. Just a few days beforehand he'd phoned her from America and said something that had troubled her. It must have been a terrible shock to her, and to Mrs Markham, to find their husbands' names being used in this way. On November 25, Mr Markham set out on his biggest challenge getting to Australia and having his migrant status accepted. 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