Call girl's 'I slept with Archer' tape to go on TV

Tapes of call girl Monica Coghlan alleging that she slept with Jeffrey Archer are to be broadcast for the first time, as part of a documentary backed by the former News of the World editor Phil Hall.

Tapes of call girl Monica Coghlan alleging that she slept with Jeffrey Archer are to be broadcast for the first time, as part of a documentary backed by the former News of the World editor Phil Hall.

The tapes have never been heard publicly, although edited transcripts of her evidence were used in the libel trial between Lord Archer and the Daily Star, which awarded him £500,000 in damages.

The documentary is one of at least three about the bestselling author currently in production, and is due to be broadcast on rival channels at the close of his forthcoming trial. The peer was charged on five counts earlier this week, including perjury and perverting the course of justice.

Mr Hall's documentary, due to go out on either Carlton or Channel 5, will be taking a new look at the Monica Coghlan affair. Lord Archer's "donation" of £2,000 to the call girl sparked the libel trial which is now at the centre of his latest brush with the courts.

Meanwhile, Lord Archer's unofficial biographer and sometime nemesis Michael Crick is bringing to fruition a long-term documentary project, to be shown on BBC1's Panorama, which takes an in-depth look at the peer's controversial life.

"It's no surprise that there is competition to get these documentaries on to the screen," said Mr Hall. "It's going to be the biggest court case of the decade; a huge circus of newspapers, politicians and high-powered media people. It's got all the ingredients of intrigue and suspense that you'd expect to find in one of Jeffrey Archer's novels."