ONE million pages of Sir Winston Churchill's papers are set to be published electronically for the first time.

An agreement has been reached with the Sir Winston Churchill Archive Trust and Churchill Heritage Ltd to digitise and publish papers from the former Prime Minister and Woodford MP.

In 2012, Bloomsbury Publishing will publish the entire archive in digital format for libraries and individuals.

Scholars, casual readers and school children will all be able to access the largest and most important collection of primary source material of any individual leader of the 20th century.

The collection includes hand-written notes and private letters, revealing the human side to the man who is recognised to have saved the nation.

At its heart are drafts and notes for his great speeches and broadcasts, texts for his famous books, and key correspondence and papers recording his engagement with the great figures and events of his day.

There are details of a novel he wrote, aged 23, about a dashing young politician, correspondence with suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst and details of how during World War Two MI5 took seriously the possibility that Churchill might be given a deadly cigar, laced with poison or primed to explode.

Nigel Newton, founder and chief executive of Bloomsbury said, “The distinguished Churchill Archive is the closest the UK has to a Presidential Library, and its publication online will become a landmark in 20th century historical studies."

Sir Martin Gilbert, Churchill biographer, said: "The Churchill Papers collection is an Aladdin's cave of historical riches, which it has been my privilege to explore.

"I strongly endorse this project, which will enable everyone to have access to Sir Winston Churchill's writings and correspondence.

"It is a project that will bring the history of the first sixty years of the twentieth century, and the remarkable story of Britain's greatest Prime Minister, into the classroom and the home."

Although it is 55 years since Churchill's death, interest in the former Woodford MP is still high.

Last week the announcement about the electronic archive came after a set of gold-plated false teeth, once worn by Churchill, sold at auction for £15,200 pounds, three times the guide price.