Jeffrey Archer of Archer's character at the end of each performance. The perjury trial began on 30 May 2001, a month after Monica Coghlan's death in a road traffic accident. Ted Francis claimed that Archer had asked him to provide a false alibi for the night Archer was alleged to have been with Monica Coghlan. Angela Peppiatt, Archer's former personal assistant, also claimed Archer had fabricated an alibi in the 1987 trial. Peppiatt had kept a diary of Archer's movements, which contradicted evidence given during the 1987 trial. Andrina Colquhoun, Archer's former mistress, confirmed that they had been having an affair in
Jeffrey Archer urged tougher prison conditions to prevent criminals from re-offending. He criticised the role of "do-gooders" and finished off the speech by denouncing the opposition party's law and order policies. This was a time when Archer was actively seeking another front-line political role. On "Question Time" on 20 January 1994, Archer said that 18 should be the age of consent for gay sex, as opposed to 21, which it was at the time. Archer though was opposed to the age of consent for gay men being 16. Historian David Starkey was on the same edition, and said of Archer: "Englishmen like