Last modified on Wed 7 Apr 2021 13.08 EDT As co-leader of “the plumbers” unit in President Richard Nixon’s White House, G Gordon Liddy, who has died aged 90 of complications from Parkinson’s disease, was the instigator of the Watergate office burglary, the fallout from which eventually forced Nixon’s resignation in the face of impeachment. Liddy’s refusal to testify against his bosses, presented as falling on his sword for his prince, saw him serve the longest sentence of any of the Watergate conspirators, but upon his release from prison he capitalised on his notoriety for a remarkable second career in the public eye.