Further humiliation for Archer as plaques removed

As if being incarcerated with burglars was not humiliation enough for Jeffrey Archer, the disgraced former Conservative Party deputy chairman is now having his name ignominiously erased from the records of organisations that once carried it with pride.

A brass plaque bearing the jailed peer's name has been consigned to a local museum after the burghers of Bromley decided it sent out the wrong message to local people and ordered it to be unscrewed from the wall of the town's leisure centre. Joan Wykes, a local Conservative councillor, was embarrassed about having her name appear alongside a felon convicted of perverting the course of justice. She said: "I would rather not have my name associated with him." The plaque, marking Archer's opening of the centre in 1992, will be consigned to the archive.

Other organisations that once courted Archer are also reviewing their connections. Taunton's cricket museum is to formally discuss whether to remove a plaque bearing Archer's name at its next annual general meeting. The MCC says it will give Archer the benefit of the doubt until the result of his appeal against his conviction is handed down. "The situation is a little unfortunate," said a source.

The Small Business Bureau is also undecided about whether to retain the services of Archer as a patron.