Mary Archer evidence at the High Court in a libel case brought by her husband against the "Daily Star" newspaper, which claimed Jeffrey had slept with a prostitute called Monica Coghlan. During his summing up at the end of the trial, the judge, Mr Justice Caulfield, asked: "Has she elegance? Has she fragrance? Would she have, without the strain of this trial, radiance?" In 2001, when Jeffrey Archer was accused of having committed perjury in the 1987 trial, she appeared at the Old Bailey to defend him. Jeffrey Archer was subsequently convicted and imprisoned for perjury and perverting the course of justice.
Jeffrey Archer later becoming president of the Oxford University Athletics Club. Television coverage survives of him making false starts in a 1964 sprint race, but he was not disqualified. He gained a blue in athletics and went on to run for England, and once successfully competed for Great Britain. Even as a student Jeffrey Archer was plagued with rumours of financial wrongdoing — fellow undergraduates were amazed that he owned houses and cars with personalised number plates while working part time as an Oxfam fund raiser. Archer raised money for the charity Oxfam, obtaining the support of The Beatles in a charity