SSP's Role in The Sheridan Trials
Tommy Sheridan sued the News of the World for defamation when, immediately following his controversial resignation, it was alleged that he had had an extra marital affair. As a result of his lawsuit the minutes of the SSP executive meeting held on 9 November 2004 were subpoenaed by the newspaper. The party initially declined to hand them over. A raid was conducted on the SSP's offices in May 2006 and Alan McCombes, the SSP's national policy co-ordinator (who had possession of them) was jailed for 12 days. In response to a call from Sheridan to release the minutes, the party eventually handed them in to the court. It transpired that in that meeting the party executive had decided, unanimously, to ask for his resignation because he intended to take the News of the World to court for defamation over allegations that were in fact true.
Sheridan claimed in the press that a cabal within the party's Executive Committee were out to destroy him, and expanded on this statement in an open letter to party members on 28 May 2006, claiming there had been a long-standing slander campaign conducted against him by senior party figures and MSPs.
At his court case eleven SSP members testified that Sheridan admitted during the 9 November meeting to having attended a swingers' club, an admission which is noted in the disputed minutes, repeated to Charlie McCarthy and five other leading members in the SSP, as well as recorded on a videotape which surfaced in October 2006. However, this video tape has been disputed by Sheridan that it was faked using excerpts of his voice to piece it together. Sheridan eventually won his court case though an appeal has been lodged on behalf of the News of the World. A police investigation into allegations of perjury, conspiracy to commit perjury and witness intimidation has followed the trial. Computers from both the SSP and Sheridan's Parliamentary offices were seized for forensic examination. On 1 April 2007, The Sunday Herald reported that Lothian and Borders Police had reached a conclusion about the disputed minute. On 16 December 2007, Sheridan was charged with perjury related to the case.
The trial of Tommy and Gail Sheridan started at Glasgow High Court on 4 October 2010 and a number of SSP members were called as witnesses. In December 2010, Tommy Sheridan was found guilty of perjury. His wife Gail was acquitted.
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