Archer case remains a crowdpuller

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, MAY 31. For the first time in weeks, election news was swept off the front pages as the multi-millionaire novelist, playwright and former vice-chairman of the Conservative Party, Lord Jeffrey Archer went on trial at the Old Bailey here on Wednesday accused of concocting an alibi to win a libel suit against a tabloid 14 years ago.

Also in the dock was his one-time friend, Mr. Ted Francis, a T.V. producer, who allegedly collaborated with him in faking the alibi - only to squeal on him years later, ostensibly because his conscience couldn't take it any more. The two avoided each other as the court and the jury heard a story which had all the ingredients of an Archer plot - sex, conspiracy, money, key- hole journalism and politics. A riveting tale of con and deception which, if bound between covers and smartly marketed, is guaranteed a place on every bestsellers' list in town.

Though in recent years the Archer case has been reported to death and debated endlessly, it remains a crowd puller and when it opened on Wednesday, the Old Bailey was crawling with journalists and celebrity watchers. In what seemed like a twist from an Archer novel, the trial was taking place in the absence of one of the central characters in this case - Ms. Monica Coghlan, a call girl with whom Lord Archer was alleged to have had sex on the evening of September 8-9, 1986, triggering the present case. Ms. Coghlan died in a car accident recently and though her death will have no bearing on the case, a lot of newspaper sketch writers clearly felt cheated.

Much of the media interest in the case - highlighted by the generous coverage in this morning's newspapers - is, of course, because of its celebrity value, but more importantly it is a media story, involving two tabloid newspapers which brought one of the country's most visible writers and a rising politician to his knees. The story line is thin and the sting lies in how it unfolded. It all began in October-November 1986 when News of the World and Star accused Lord Archer of having sex with Ms. Coghlan in a London hotel. The prosecution on Wednesday stressed the fact that Lord Archer was ``then vice- chairman of the Conservative party and a man at the height of his political career.''

Lord Archer, who quickly resigned his party post following the allegation, sued Star and went on to win £ 500,000 in damages after he produced an alibi that showed he could not have been with the call girl at the time he was alleged to be having sex with her. It was a happy ending to a case which had strained his family life and caused a lot of distress to his wife Mary; but if they thought they were going to live happily forever afterwards, they had not reckoned with Mr. Francis; or rather his conscience.

In 1999, as Lord Archer prepared to contest as Mayor of London on a Conservative Party ticket, Mr. Francis' conscience started ticking. ``He believed Lord Archer was not fit to hold such a position,'' according to the prosecution; and so on October 29, 1999, he spoke to a News of the World reporter saying that the alibi on the basis of which Lord Archer had won his libel case against Star had been a fake and that he had been paid £ 20,000 to invent it. The alibi was that Lord Archer was actually dining with Mr. Francis at the time when he was alleged to have been seen with Ms. Coghlan.

The trial is a consequence of Mr Francis' disclosure - and while Lord Archer faces a host of charges, including perjury and perverting the course of justice, Mr. Francis is accused of perverting the course of justice. Both deny the charges. Lord Archer, who arrived at the Old Bailey with his wife and son, reportedly sat in the court without betraying any emotions.

``He was having a sort of out-of-body experience keenly observing himself sitting there in the dock as might an author observe in his imagination the central figure of his new novel, caught in the intricacies of an emerging plot,'' commented The Times' sketchwriter Matthew Parris.

His last ``court'' appearance was on stage when he appeared in his own play ``The Accused'', playing a doctor accused of poisoning his wife. He left the verdict open-ended, asking the audience each night to play the jury and give their own judgment. On more than one night they returned a ``guilty'' verdict.

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Section  : International
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