Disgraced British MP Mr Jonathan Aitken embarked on salvaging his tattered reputation yesterday. He told a packed Cork church congregation he was a changed man, a man committed to telling people about the "power of the holy spirit".
The former Conservative MP served a seven-month jail sentence for perjury and perverting the course of justice, after a failed libel action against the Guardian and Granada Television's World in Action in 1997.
The Dublin-born former journalist was once described as one of the most debonair and assured personalities in British politics. During his imprisonment he said he re-evaluated his life and rediscovered his faith in God. He now plans to go on to lay ministry when he completes a theology degree at Oxford's Wycliffe College.
"In prison I converted loneliness and prayer into solitude and hope. I turned back to the faith and went to confession. That was a turning point in my journey," said Mr Aitken.
Mr Aitken was speaking as part of the Church of the Holy Spirit's "Lent on the Edge" series of talks. He said he had made many friends in prison and had even become godfather to one of the inmate's daughters. He also became involved in prayer groups.
"I was very conscious that something quite wonderful was going on. But all through the gospels this is happening to people. Jesus reaches out to the most unlikely of individuals," he said.
Mr Aitken was the British minister for defence procurement from 1992 until July 1995, when he resigned to fight a libel action over allegations made about his dealings with Prince Mohammed of Saudi Arabia.
He once declared he would cut out the cancer of bent and twisted journalism with "the sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play".
Yesterday Mr Aitken said he couldn't have used more foolish or arrogant words and added that all his troubles lay in telling a stupid lie about a hotel bill.
Mr Aitken said at that period in his life he was surrounded by what he called "yes ministers" and began to think he could "walk on water". He said he now hoped to be reconciled with his estranged wife and lead a life of service to God.
His Georgian home in London was sold for £2.4 million in February, shortly after it was put on the market to pay his trustees in bankruptcy.