The woman who has made allegations of sexual assault against the former Tory minister, Mr Neil Hamilton and his wife, Christine, yesterday condemned the "vile slurs" made against her in the media.
At three separate press conferences yesterday, all sides in the case pleaded for the "media circus" to end.
The woman, whose identity is protected by law, is still co-operating with the police investigation into her claim she was raped at a flat in east London as the Hamiltons sexually assaulted her.
At a press conference in the woman's hometown of Grimsby in north Lincolnshire, her solicitor, Mr John Bridge, said she was "confident" the case would be heard in court.
Mr Bridge also condemned some of the media coverage of the case, saying the allegations levelled at his client were untrue, and he urged the media not to pursue her.
"The majority of those allegations are baseless and whilst there is a natural tendency to defend one's self against such vile slurs, my client realises that ultimately she must save her account until it is given and tested in court," Mr Bridge said. "It is not a circus - it is a case of rape."
In Manchester, Mr Nick Freeman, the solicitor for Mr Barry Lehaney - whose east London flat is where the assault allegedly took place - said he had been interviewed twice by the police and had told them the alleged assault did not take place.
"My client is adamant and emphatic in his denial in relation to these allegations," Mr Freeman told reporters, stressing that Mr Lehaney insisted he had never previously met either the former Tory minister, Mr Neil Hamilton, or his wife, Christine, and they had not visited his home in Ilford.
The woman met Mr Lehaney via an Internet chat room and claims she was sent "pornographic and threatening" e-mails by the Hamiltons. The Hamiltons, who have dismissed the allegations as a "tissue of lies", say they were giving a dinner party at their London home on the night in question.
The tabloid newspapers have fought to buy exclusive rights to all sides of the latest tale. The lurid web of allegations of group sex and rape have been played out in the full glare of the British media spotlight and the Sun has called the incident "The Hamiltons' Amazing Circus".
Expressing his concern about the amount of media coverage and comment on the case, Mr Freeman said Mr Lehaney was being put under "immeasurable" stress.
"This case has received widespread media attention and the courting of publicity by the accused and the accuser at such an embryonic stage in the inquiry is unprecedented," Mr Freeman said.
The Hamiltons insisted they had "incontrovertible proof" of all their movements on the day of the alleged assault. Mr Hamilton said the woman knew that he and his wife were not at Mr Lehaney's flat on May 5th and that they were not involved in any assault.
As Mrs Hamilton appeared tense and at times wept, Mr Hamilton said 10 witnesses had come forward to remind them about their movements.
"This woman is lying and the police should be pursuing her," he told GMTV. "I'm getting more and more outraged that this woman is persisting in these ridiculous allegations and the police appear to be taking them seriously.
"What they should be doing is not persisting in persecuting us, but stopping this woman from disseminating these outrageous lies and attempting to pervert the course of justice by wasting police time and getting us prosecuted for an offence that we did not commit," Mr Hamilton said.
Since the story broke last week, the Hamiltons have criticised the police for arresting them before they had a chance to tell their side of the story. However, the police have said they approached the couple's solicitor on two occasions before their arrest last Friday to discuss the allegations privately and received no response.
Police have also expressed their surprise and disappointment that when the Hamiltons chose to visit Barkingside police station for an interview, they brought a BBC television crew with them.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Archer yesterday launched an appeal against his conviction for perjury and perverting the course of justice in connection with his libel action against the Daily Star in 1987. Archer is serving a four-year sentence at a prison in Norfolk.