Lord Archer, the scandal-hit former deputy Tory chairman, could run for political office in London under a rival party's colours, according to reports.

The millionaire novelist is said to have been approached by the Euro-sceptic Referendum Party, only days after the Conservative Party expelled him for five years for "damaging its reputation".

One report says Lord Archer has been invited to stand as the party's mayoral candidate, while another suggests he may stand as an independent candidate for the Greater London Authority (GLA), set to run the capital in partnership with the elected mayor.

Philip Slater, Referendum Party chairman, has written to Lord Archer asking him to run as a "standard bearer" for the party within the GLA, according to the Sunday Times.

The claims come prior to an announcement expected from Lord Archer in the next few days on whether he is to appeal against his expulsion.

He has the right to lodge a challenge to the move with senior Conservative Lord Mayhew before expulsion takes effect.

The Conservatives' ethics and integrity committee, which banned him for five years, said the exile would have been longer had it not been for the "fantastic amount of work" he had contributed.

The peer's friend and spokesman, Stephan Shakespeare, accused the committee of being "harsh" and criticised the way the decision had been announced.

Lord Archer was forced to quit in November as the party's candidate for London mayor. He admitted asking a friend to lie for him during a libel trial with the Daily Star newspaper in 1987.

Scotland Yard detectives investigating whether Lord Archer committed perjury or conspired to pervert the course of justice at the 1987 libel trial are yet to speak to him.