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LORD Archer is behind bars after a jury found him guilty of being a liar, a cheat and a conman.

The former MP, once a candidate for Mayor of London and a former Tory Party deputy chairman, was jailed for four years yesterday for perjury and perverting the course of justice when he rigged his 1987 libel trial.

His former friend and co-defendant Ted Francis, 67, who had been asked to provide a false alibi for the 1987 trial, was cleared of perverting the course of justice.

As he was discharged from the dock, retired television producer Francis mouthed "thank you, thank you" to the jury, while Archer pursed his lips. He then went to sit with his solicitor to listen as the fate of his former friend unfolded.

As the disgraced millionaire novelist was led down to the cells at the Old Bailey in London, the Daily Star announced plans to recover the £500,000 he won in the famous 1987 trial over claims he slept with prostitute Monica Coghlan, who was killed earlier this year by a car driven by an armed robber.

The verdict rang out to a packed courtroom as Archer's wife and their son William, 29, watched stony-faced from the back.

The judge told Archer it gave him "no pleasure at all" to sentence him and branded the whole case "extremely distasteful".

But Mr Justice Potts said: "These charges represent as serious an offence of perjury as I have had experience of and have been able to find in the books."

In a twist, police later refused to rule out the possibility of Lady Archer facing an inquiry over the evidence she gave in her husband's defence.

Detectives said they would reflect on the matter in due course. Lady Archer, famously described as "fragrant" by the judge at the original libel trial, had told the court she remembered seeing a diary, which the jury rejected.

Archer, 61, was convicted on two counts of perverting the course of justice and two of perjury, but cleared on a third charge of perverting justice.

There was a shout of "yes" from the public gallery as the first guilty verdict was delivered by the jury foreman.

Lady Archer, 56, spent most of the hearing staring at the ground, William at her side. His brother James, 27, came into court for the sentencing.

Archer was driven off in a prison van to Belmarsh Prison, where inmates include Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs.

He shared the vehicle with at least two other prisoners, including a drug dealer jailed for life for a stabbing. Also sent to Belmarsh from the Old Bailey today was a man accused of molesting children and a gipsy being tried for murder.

Archer will be processed at Belmarsh and is likely to spend about a year there before being considered for transfer to an open prison.

The jury took 23 hours and 31 minutes to reach its unanimous verdicts on each charge.

Archer had denied using a false diary and concocting a bogus story in his defence of the Daily Star's claims.

The peer, who was also ordered to pay £175,000 costs within 12 months, was told by the judge he would have to serve at least half of his sentence. He was sentenced to two years for the first count of perverting the course of justice, four years for a second similar charge, three years for count five of perjury and four years for count six, also of perjury.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

Detective Superintendent Jeff Hunt, who led the police inquiry, said: "We are satisfied with the sentence imposed today which reflects the gravity in which the courts see offences of perjury and perverting the course of justice."

Afterwards, Daily Star editor Peter Hill said the paper was seeking £2.2m from Archer, adding: "No one should have any sympathy for Jeffrey Archer.

"He is a proven liar, a cheat and a chancer, a man so arrogant that he thought he was above the law. Now finally he has got what he deserved.