Journalist makes new allegations against Archer

Yet more damaging allegations about Lord Archer's fabricated alibi were made yesterday as the peer emerged for the first time…

Yet more damaging allegations about Lord Archer's fabricated alibi were made yesterday as the peer emerged for the first time from his home in Cambridgeshire after six days avoiding the media.

Hours after an article appeared claiming the peer asked a journalist not to reveal a conversation in which he confirmed meeting the prostitute, Ms Monica Coghlan, which contradicts his claim never to have met her, Lord Archer was driven away from his home by his chauffeur without making any comment.

Lord Archer's hopes of becoming mayor of London were dashed last weekend when he resigned as Conservative candidate after his friend, Mr Ted Francis, revealed that he had asked him to lie about a dinner date ahead of his 1987 libel case against the Daily Star. The false alibi was not needed but Lord Archer resigned knowing that his political and personal reputation was in tatters.

In an article published in the Economist by the journalist Adam Raphael, Lord Archer's concoction of intrigue about his real whereabouts on September 8th 1986, when the Daily Star alleged he was with Ms Coghlan, was held up as an exercise of breathtaking proportions.

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Raphael said that the then deputy chairman of the Conservative Party asked him "not to remember" a conversation - when Mr Raphael was political editor with the Observer - in which he said he had met Ms Coghlan "casually" six months before the news broke alleging he had a relationship with her.

The revelation would have been helpful to the Daily Star's case and during the libel case Lord Archer repeatedly denied that he had told Mr Raphael or any other journalist that he had met Ms Coghlan.

Lord Archer also prepared an "A" list of witnesses for the night of September 8th 1986 and a "B" list of witnesses for September 9th since prior to the libel case the Daily Star was unsure which night he had allegedly been with Ms Coghlan. Mr Francis provided the false alibi for September 9th, which was not needed since the Daily Star settled on the previous night for Lord Archer's meeting with the prostitute.

The article claimed that the peer's theatrical agent, Mr Terence Baker, who provided the alibi for September 8th, was also due to meet Lord Archer the following night for dinner, according to Lord Archer's diary. However, since Lord Archer claimed he rarely saw Mr Baker, Mr Raphael questioned whether the two men would have met for drinks and dinner on successive evenings in London.

Questions have also been raised about Lord Archer's connections with various charities in Britain. The former Tory prime minister, Mr John Major, is believed to have recommended Lord Archer for a peerage based in part on his successful record in raising money for charity, in particular for Kurdish refugees. In Lord Archer's Who's Who entry, he lists the £57 million he helped raise for the Simple Truth Campaign for Kurdish refugees in 1991.

However, a Kurdish group in London has raised doubts about whether the money was paid to the Kurdish refugees. A member of the Kurdish Charitable Organisation, who wished to remain unnamed and pointed out that he was not speaking on behalf of the organisation, told The Irish Times: "He [Lord Archer] says the money went to Saddam Hussein and then to the Kurds, but we don't believe it. . . He took the money. None of it reached the Kurdish people."

Lord Archer's spokesman, Mr Stephan Shakespeare, was not available for comment but a spokeswoman for Conservative Central Office insisted its ethics and integrity committee had been asked to investigate his conduct. She said allegations about Lord Archer's dealings with the Kurdish charity were "news to us".