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 course was based in the department, and Archer became a member of Brasenose College. There have been claims that Archer provided false evidence of his academic qualifications to Brasenose College: for instance, the apparent citing of an American institution which was actually a bodybuilding club, in gaining admission to the course. It has also been alleged Archer provided false statements about three non-existent A-level passes and a U.S. university degree. Although the diploma course only lasted a year, Archer spent a total of three years at Oxford. Whilst at Oxford Archer was successful in athletics, competing in sprinting and hurdling,