Archer lied to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher or

Archer lied to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher or former Conservative party chairman Norman Tebbitt over his affair with Andrina Colquhoun, the court was told.

Mrs Peppiatt insisted Archer had repeatedly attempted to cover up the relationship.

‘Jeffrey had been, how can I put it, he had reassured, whether it was the chairman or the prime minister, that his relationship with Andrina was no longer going on and it patently was,’ she told the jury.

Archer’s barrister Nicholas Purnell, QC, accused her of obtaining two valuable paintings by adding them to Archer’s art gallery bill for a rare satirical cartoon.

‘You went there, you added two Pamela Kay paintings to Lord Archer’s bill,’ the QC said claiming they were never returned to the gallery.

Mrs Peppiatt said she had agreed to pay for the paintings by instalment and they were given back when she realised she could not afford them.

‘You can suggest what you want Mr Purnell,’ she frostily told the QC.

The trial continues
ends