LONDON (Reuters) - Disgraced British politician and best-selling novelist Jeffrey Archer was jailed for four years on Thursday after being found guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice in a sensational London trial. (Read photo caption below).
The flamboyant Archer, a peer in the House of Lords, was convicted of three charges of perverting the course of justice and one of perjury over a 1987 libel case that centered on allegations he had sex with a prostitute. He was acquitted of one charge of perverting the course of justice.
Archer's lawyer said he would appeal but declined to comment further.
Police said they were satisfied with the verdict, which reflected the gravity of the offences.
Archer, who had pleaded not guilty to all charges, was accused of lying and creating false diaries to win 500,000 pounds (700,000) in libel damages from the Daily Star newspaper in 1987. He took the tabloid to court after it alleged that he paid prostitute Monica Coghlan for sex in September 1986.
Archer was ordered on Thursday to pay 175,000 pounds in legal costs or face another 12 months in prison if he did not. The question of whether the Star should get its 500,000 pounds back would have to be decided by another court, the judge said.
The prosecution said he faked two diaries that he presented during the libel trial to back up a false alibi that he was elsewhere on the night in question.
Archer, 61, whose mother died during the trial, did not take the stand in his own defense during the six-week hearing.
But his wife Mary, who was in court daily to support her husband, provided some of the most dramatic moments of the trial when she gave evidence on his behalf.
FRAGRANT MARY
Lady Archer shot to prominence during the 1987 court case when the judge described her as ``fragrant.''
In this trial, she strongly refuted evidence from Archer's former secretary Angela Peppiatt that the couple led separate lives, saying the claims were ``complete and utter nonsense.''
Peppiatt had earlier told the court that Archer produced a brand new diary as he prepared his 1987 libel case and told her to fill it in from a hand written note he gave her.
She also said Archer had a long-running affair with his former personal assistant Andrina Colquhoun and often asked her to buy expensive presents for his girlfriends.
This latter claim was also denied by Lady Archer who said one gift of jewelry mentioned was intended for former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, under whom Archer served as the party's deputy chairman in the 1980s.
Archer, whose best-selling novels include ``Kane and Abel'' and ``Honor Among Thieves'' was brought to trial as the result of a chain of events put into motion when he decided to run as the Conservative Party's candidate in London's mayoral race in 1999.
Archer's former friend, television producer Ted Francis, disclosed that Archer had asked him to lie about an alibi in 1986 that related to the events of the libel trial.
Archer was forced to withdraw from the race and was suspended from the Conservative Party for five years, halting his tumultuous and colorful political career.
The Daily Star said it wanted its money back and legal authorities announced they were charging Archer with perjury and other offences relating to the 1987 libel trial.
Francis was charged alongside Archer with attempting to pervert the course of justice. The jury found him not guilty of perverting the course of justice.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Lord Archer faced dishonesty charges arising from his successful 1987 libel action, in which he won £500,000 damages from the Daily Star over allegations that he slept with a prostitute. He was accused of asking his former friend Mr Francis, 67, to provide him with a false alibi for a night relating to the libel case and of producing fake diary entries to back up his story. (B