[1] Spicer was Member of Parliament (MP) for West Dorset from February 1974 until he retired at the 1997 general election, when he was succeeded by Oliver Letwin.
He was a vice-chairman of the Conservative Party, and was also the Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Wessex from 1979 to 1984.
Commissioned at 18, he served in North West Europe during the remainder of the Second World War and thereafter in Egypt, Kenya, Cyprus and finally in 1956, with the Parachute Regiment in the ill-fated attack on Port Said.
As a politician, he was considered to be on the Thatcherite wing of the Conservative Party, opposing sanctions against South Africa and the relaxation of immigration rules, and supporting the return of capital punishment.
During his long career, he had one-to-one meetings with Nicolae Ceausescu, Saddam Hussein, President Assad, Robert Mugabe and many other world leaders.