ARCHER

ARCHER GOES
Jeffrey Archer, pulled out yesterday from the election to become mayor of London after admitting that he had persuaded a friend to lie for him in court in 1986. He could now facecriminal charges.
This is, of course, not the first time that Archer has been economical with the truth. Early in his political career the rumor spread that he had attended the famous Berkshire School,Wellington College. In fact, he had studied at the far more ordinary Wellington School in Somerset. It was also widely believed that he had studied for an MA at Oxford University.
In reality, he tookpart of a postgraduate diploma course – a course for which he was not qualified. Elected to Parliament in 1969, he was said to be the youngest MP ever. Not true. There is no doubting his ability tomake money. By 1974 he had already made a fortune in business, but various investment mistakes over a number of years meant he lost it all and was left with huge debts. Resigning from Parliament, hestarted writing to pay back what he owed. His novels became best- sellers and have earned him as much as 50 million over the years.
He returned to politics in 1985, but was forced to resign a yearlater following stories that he had sent 2000 to a prostitute, Monica Coghlan. Some newspapers suggested in their reports that Archer had sex with Ms. Coghlan. He took legal action and won libeldamages of 500.000.
Jeffrey Archer became Lord Archer in 1992 but questions over his financial dealings continue to this day and his ability to exaggerate simple facts seems not to have diminished. So,will he survive this latest scandal? Only time will tell, but Archer has a reputation for being able to bounce back.
Read the article again and answer these questions, then ask them to a classmateusing indirect questions:
1. Why did Archer resign in 1974?
2. Why did he resign in 1986?
3. Why did he take some newspapers to court?
4. Why did he decide not to stand as Mayor of London?...