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 The BBC's Graham Satchell"Daily Star is demanding their money back with interest"  real 28k  Editor of The Daily Star, Peter Hill"Legal action is inevitable"  real 28kMax Clifford, Publicist"You have to wait until tomorrow" real 28kMark Stephens from law firm Stephen Innocent"Any prosecution would stand a low chance of success" real 28k |
Repay money, newspaper tells Archer
Lord Archer: Could be prosecuted |
Lord Archer is facing a police investigation and demands for the return of £3m as publicist Max Clifford promises more revelations about the former Tory mayor candidate.
Conservative leader William Hague said on Monday that the party now had a chance to put forward a "real and credible alternative" to the eventual Labour mayor candidate.
Party chairman Michael Ancram insisted Lord Archer's resignation showed the party's determination to tackle sleaze. He boasted that Mr Hague had acted promptly to force the peer to quit the London mayor race.
 It is a terrible indictment of Mr Hague. If he had acted at the beginning and summoned Archer for the grilling his past conduct deserves, this need never have happened.  |
| Michael Crick, unauthorised biographer of Lord Archer |
As the search for a new Tory candidate for London mayor begins, Lord Archer faces possible court proceedings and demands from the Daily Star for the return of libel damages and court costs.
The peer admitted on Saturday he had asked a friend to lie for him before a libel trial. Although the evidence was not needed in court, charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice or perjury could be brought.
The Tories' troubles are not eased by the absence of an obvious heavy-hitting candidate to take over as its mayor candidate.
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Possible contenders |
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Steven Norris |
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John Major |
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Archie Norman |
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Sebastian Coe |
Other names being mooted but not confirmed include former Prime Minister John Major, Olympic medal winner turned Tory MP Sebastian Coe and the millionaire businessman and shadow minister Archie Norman.
Mr Ancram said he hoped new candidates would emerge in coming weeks and claimed the episode showed the party had a system in place to tackle damaging allegations.
"Whereas in the past sleaze ran on and one, now we have a system for dealing with it."
Max Clifford: The man behind the scandal, again |
Two other past associates of Lord Archer has also approached the PR supremo to reveal their stories.
"All I know is it's if you like more or the same - people who have known Jeffrey Archer for a long time who have known things about him that will come out," Mr Clifford said.
'We want £3m back' - Star
While Mr Francis gained only £19,000 from selling his story, his actions have led to demands by the Daily Star for £500,000 in damages and £700,000 in court costs plus interest from Lord Archer. The tabloid's editor, Peter Hill, put the total at £3m.
Lord Archer asked Mr Francis to say he had dined with him at a Chelsea restaurant on 9 September 1986 ahead of his libel case against the Daily Star, which had accused him of having sex with prostitute Monica Coghlan. He denied the allegations and won £500,000.
The Daily Star originally claimed the alleged meeting with Ms Coghlan was 9 September 1986, but changed the date to 8 September in court, meaning Mr Francis was never needed as a witness.
Lord Archer insisted he was in the restaurant that night and said he was simply trying to protect the person he was with, his then personal assistant Andrina Colquhoun.
While legal experts said they did not expect Lord Archer to follow former Tory MP Jonathan Aitken to jail, Mr Hill said he believed that some form of legal action was inevitable.
"I would say he was at the very least guilty of an act that would be likely to pervert the course of justice ... in persuading his friend to tell lies for him," he said.
"When you go to court you expect that all the evidence will be heard and you expect the truth will be told. But in fact, all the evidence was not heard, because if the jury had known that Jeffrey Archer had persuaded his friend to lie for him, they wouldn't have been prepared to believe the rest of the things that he said.
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See also: |
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21 Nov 99 | UK Politics |
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Q&A: Archer's legal dilemma |
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22 Nov 99 | UK Politics |
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Who now for London Tories? |
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20 Nov 99 | UK Politics |
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Hague left fuming as Archer falls |
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20 Nov 99 | UK Politics |
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Profile: Jeffrey Archer |
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21 Nov 99 | UK Politics |
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Hague under pressure over Archer |
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21 Nov 99 | UK |
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Love is: Marriage to Jeffrey |
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20 Nov 99 | UK Politics |
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Archer statement in full |
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20 Nov 99 | UK Politics |
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A mayor for the millennium |
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