In 1979, he was the first British politician to be tried for conspiracy and incitement to murder. Although he was acquitted, the scandal finished his political career. It was dramatized by the BBC with
A Very English Scandal (2018), which starred film star
Hugh Grant as Thorpe, was adapted by one of the UK's most acclaimed screenwriters,
Russell T. Davies, and was directed by one of the UK's most acclaimed filmmakers,
Stephen Frears.