Jeffrey Archer saying that his words had been "taken out of context". Archer resigned as deputy chairman in October 1986 due to a scandal caused by an article in "The News of the World", which led on the story "Tory boss Archer pays vice-girl" and claimed Archer had paid Monica Coghlan, a prostitute, £2,000 through an intermediary at Victoria Station to go abroad. Shortly after "The News of the World" story broke, rival tabloid the "Daily Star" ran a story alleging Archer had paid for sex with Coghlan, something "The News of the World" had been careful to avoid stating directly. Archer
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