Lord Archer's secretary secretly photocopied documents for "self-protection" after he allegedly ordered her to make entries in a bogus diary, the Old Bailey was told yesterday.
It was done in a "dishonest instinct of self-protection" when she was told to falsify entries in the diary involved in Lord Archer's successful libel action against a newspaper, said Mr David Waters QC, prosecuting.
Ms Angela Peppiatt later produced the photocopies to police - some a few weeks before the present trial in which the bestselling author and former deputy chairman of the Tory Party is accused of offences including perjury.
Lord Archer is alleged to have also made false diary entries himself to cover up his whereabouts on the night the Daily Star claimed he was with a prostitute.
The millionaire novelist was being pressed by lawyers for the Daily Star to produce diaries for the time when they said he was with prostitute Ms Monica Coghlan.
Lord Archer later won £500,000 damages when he sued the paper for libel.
Mr Waters told the jury yesterday that at some stage during April-May 1987, Lord Archer went to Ms Peppiatt with a new blank A4 size 1986 diary.
"He also produced a piece of paper with six entries on it," he said.
"She was told to copy those entries into Monday, September 8th, in the new blank diary produced by Lord Archer.
"There we have six entries and details in Jeffrey Archer's handwriting provided to Angela Peppiatt," Mr Waters told the jury.
Ms Peppiatt must also have made the three entries in relation to the period up to noon on Tuesday September 9th.
Ms Peppiatt had taken the precaution of photocopying the Times newspaper on the day she made her copies.
"The day, as we will hear, when it must have become all too clear that she was being told to assist in something seriously underhand," said Mr Waters.
Lord Archer probably asked Ms Peppiatt to copy entries in a new 1986 diary on April 29th, 1987, he said.
Ms Peppiatt had also written a note and asked a colleague to countersign it stating that she had delivered a Letts Diary to Lord Archer's solicitors, Mishcons, "under the orders of Jeffrey Archer".
She noted she had filled in entries. The words were different from her own diary, which was always considered to be the master diary and had subsequently been mislaid.
Mr Waters said: "I anticipate Ms Peppiatt will readily accept dishonest self-protection. Dishonest because the details came not from the Economist diary so far as the Monday, September 8th, was concerned, but from the list prepared by Lord Archer.
"Dishonest also because the original diary, the master book, had not of course been mislaid."
Lord Archer (61), and his codefendant, television producer Mr Ted Francis (67), both face charges of dishonesty.
Lord Archer denies four charges of perverting the course of justice, two counts of perjury, and one of using a false instrument.
Mr Francis denies one charge of perverting the course of justice by agreeing to provide Lord Archer with a false alibi.