Court hears secret tapes of Archer discussing 'false alibi'

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Archer jury hears tapes that ended mayoral ambition

The jury in the Old Bailey trial of Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare heard secretly taped conversations yesterday of him discussing an allegedly false alibi for his 1987 libel trial.

The telephone calls were made to the former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party by his former friend Ted Francis at the behest of the News of the World, 12 years after the Tory peer won £500,000 libel damages from the Daily Star over an article which claimed he had sex with a prostitute.

Transcripts of the tape were published by the News of the World, forcing Lord Archer to withdraw as Tory candidate for Mayor of London. In the tapes Lord Archer is heard telling Mr Francis, who allegedly provided him with a false alibi: "We have got to be careful, Ted. We don't want to go to a court of law with this."

The court was told that Mr Francis decided to reveal the alleged perversion of justice in 1999 because he believed Lord Archer was not fit to be Mayor. "Worried and frightened", he contacted the publicist Max Clifford, who put him in touch with the News of the World.

The jury heard Lord Archer's reaction when Mr Francis called him pretending that a journalist had discovered the false alibi and got hold of a letter from Mr Francis to the peer's solicitor. Lord Archer said: "Well, how did he get hold of a copy? ... Jesus, what does it say?"

Lord Archer denies perverting justice, perjury and using a false instrument. Mr Francis also denies perverting the course of justice.

The case continues.