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 by critics, and closed after a few weeks. His final play, "The Accused", opened at the Theatre Royal, Windsor on 26 September 2000, before transferring to the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in the West End in December. In 1988 author Kathleen Burnett accused Archer of plagiarising a story she'd written and including it in his short-story collection, "A Twist in the Tale". Archer denied he had plagiarised the story, claiming he'd simply been inspired by the idea. Whilst Archer's books are commercially successful, critics have been generally unfavourable towards his writing. However, journalist Hugo Barnacle, writing for "The Independent" about "The