Ibobbed off in an armchair after dinner a couple of weeks ago — nearer three to be exact — and awoke to find myself in a new world. This was a fantasy world, as it turned out. Open on my lap was a copy of that day’s Daily Telegraph carrying a story from which, as I read with widening eyes, I learned that Lord Archer had at last been stripped of his peerage.

Reporter Oliver Duggan referred to “the disgraced politician” in the opening sentence of the story, which was headlined “Archer: prostate cancer made me a baby again” and concerned Archer’s recent brush with the disease. Twice in the paragraphs that followed he was pointedly called “Mr Archer”.

My first thought was that Archer’s expulsion from the Lords must have occurred while I was out of the country on holiday. Presumably I had missed the news, in the way you sometimes fail to notice the death of a famous person and only learn of it months, maybe even years, later.

A few moments’ research on the Internet made it apparent that Archer had not been expelled at all. The celebratory bottle of champagne — Krug of course — which I had been mentally preparing to uncork — could remain on the wine rack.

From internal evidence in the article, it was evident that it had largely been ‘lifted’ from the Mail on Sunday. (This was a Monday edition of the Telegraph, which is always full of stories pinched from the Sundays — commendably, I have to say, with proper acknowledgement of the source.) I wondered if the MoS had been the origin of the error. But no. This newspaper had preserved his lordship’s dignity, indeed had considerably enhanced it with a series of flattering pictures of the convicted perjurer and his fragrant wife Mary.

Duggan, it would seem, had misremembered what had been done about Archer’s title following his imprisonment in 2001, perhaps in the light of what has happened since with other people having their lesser honours annulled.

One thinks principally of Fred ‘the Shred’ Goodwin, who was stripped of his knighthood two years ago — it had been awarded in 2004 for “services to banking” — after the revelation of his disastrous mismanagement of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Other examples have been the headmistress Jean Else who ceased to be a Dame in 2007 following the the Audit Commission’s exposure of serious irregularities during her control of Whalley Range High School in Manchester, and boxer Naseem Hamed, who lost his MBE after being jailed for a motoring offence.

It is equally possible, of course, that Duggan had made no mistake and that Archer’s demotion had been written into his copy by the sub-editor who dealt with it. Either way, the marvel is that the howler sailed into print unchecked.

Even more surprising is that, as far as I can see, there has been until now absolutely no comment from anybody on the error, which occurred as long ago as Monday, June 9.

I expected to see an apology in the newspaper the next day. None was forthcoming, unless it was so carefully buried in the broadsheet pages as to defy discovery.

It barely seems conceivable that not one of the Telegraph’s many thousands of readers put pen to paper — or these days, more likely, finger to keyboard — to write to the editor about the mistake. Were any letters suppressed?

Would Archer himself not have written? Did no one among what he would probably call his ‘people’ draw the article to the attention of the great man, assuming he had not already seen it himself?

It could be, of course, that Archer did contact the Editor by telephone or email — urging that nothing more be said on the subject.

Ever suspicious in such matters as these, I consider it quite likely that he took the attitude “least said, soonest mended”.

Would he wish to spark off further debate on his title? This would only serve to remind people how the Labour Government failed to match actions with words after Lord Falconer — Tony Blair’s former flatmate and the then Lord Chancellor — promised in 2003 that convicted peers “will forfeit their membership of the House exactly as they would if they were MPs. In addition, they will be deprived of their peerage.”

Oh yeah?