Edward Ferrier

In the short story The Augean Stables, Edward Ferrier is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His father-in-law, Lord Cornworthy, was his predecessor on the post. Ferrier had the uneviable task of clearing up a mess of financial chicanery left behind by his father-in-law, while being threatened with exposure in a tabloid. This would likely lead to the government falling. Fortunately for Ferrier, this challenge was likened to cleaning the Augean Stables and thus Poirot was attracted to take up the case as one of the twelve in his portfolio of his "Labours of Hercules". Poirot was also sympathetic to Ferrier's plight because the Prime Minister's former teacher, Professor Fergus MacLeod, had described him as "a sound man". Both Poirot and Ferrier saw this as high praise.