The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 plus 8 letter word BEYOND REPROACH
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
B
E
Y
O
N
D
R
E
P
R
O
A
C
H
More clues leading to the result BEYOND REPROACH
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "was perfect" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case was perfect = beyond reproach.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.