The wife of Lord Archer, the disgraced Tory peer, has accused her former personal assistant of being "untrustworthy".

Lady Archer told an industrial tribunal her former aide Jane Williams was "not employable".

The 57-year-old, whose husband is serving a four-year jail sentence for perjury, was speaking on the third day of the hearing in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

I most certainly warned this individual that Mrs Williams was untrustworthy

Lady Archer

Ms Williams, 49, who worked for Lady Archer between 1988 and 2000, is claiming unfair dismissal.

She was based at the Archers' home at Grantchester, near Cambridge, before her dismissal last year.

The tribunal heard how in April Lady Archer had given a warning to someone who was considering employing Ms Williams.

'Sell stories'

Lady Archer said: "I most certainly warned this individual that Mrs Williams was untrustworthy that she had taken confidential documents, and it was my advice she was not employable as a personal assistant.

"This is April 2002. I had by then learned a great deal more about Mrs Williams' behaviour," she added.

She said Ms Williams was offered a part time job instead of her full time role and had been asked to sign a confidentiality agreement.

Ms Williams had declined both offers and stopped working for Lady Archer, the tribunal heard.

Lady Archer said Ms Williams 'approached a publicity agent'

Lady Archer claimed that after leaving her job Ms Williams had tried to sell stories to the press and approached publicity agent Max Clifford.

Lady Archer said: "I don't have a personal knowledge. She did not take me along when she went to Mr Max Clifford and offered to sell stories about me around Fleet Street.

"But she has disclosed other proceedings. I knew nothing of this at the time of her dismissal.

"Most of it had not happened then."

Disciplinary meeting

Lady Archer told the tribunal Ms Williams had been having psychiatric counselling while working for her during the early part of 2001.

Earlier she told how Ms Williams became upset during a disciplinary meeting in spring last year.

Lady Archer said: "She became upset when her friend who was with her explained why her private health care insurance, which I funded, had taken such a sharp hike.

"That was because she had been having psychiatric counselling."

Since Ms Williams left there had been a dispute over the ownership of diaries and a computer hard-drive.

But Lady Archer said she did not recognise the dispute as genuine.

"There is no question that the working diaries kept on Jane's desk-top were not only paid for by me, they were about me, they contained confidential information about me as well as a list of my full-time appointments," she said.

"They are my property and indeed have been returned to me."

Home visits

Lady Archer also offered an insight into the impact of Lord Archer's trial on her home life.

She said her own commitments had reduced since her husband was jailed.

"When you are at the eye of the storm like that things tend to decrease. People stop asking you to do things."

The hearing was adjourned and will resume on 23 October.