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362 lines
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news
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uknews
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scotland
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8222353
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-----
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# Tommy Sheridan guilty of perjury over swingers trips
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## Tommy Sheridan, the former leader of the Scottish Socialist Party, was
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facing a lengthy jail sentence last night after being convicted of perjury at
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the end of a 12-week trial.
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TelegraphPlayer-8222599
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[<][1] [>][1]
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* [![][2]][3]
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Article
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[Sheridan perjury case: timeline][3]
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* [![][4]][5]
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Article
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[What they all said][5]
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* [![][6]][7]
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Article
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[Comrade Sheridan: 'The sunbed socialist'][7]
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* [![][8]][9]
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Pictures
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[Tommy Sheridan trial][9]
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* [![][10]][11]
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Article
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[Gail Sheridan: the loyal wife][11]
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[1][1] [2][1]
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Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent 5:08PM GMT 23 Dec 2010
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The disgraced former MSP was found guilty of lying during his successful
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defamation case against the News of the World in 2006.
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He sued the Sunday tabloid after it claimed two years earlier that Scotland's
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"hero of the left" was an adulterer who had visited a swingers' club.
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He won damages of pounds200,000, at a civil trial that tore the SSP apart and
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led to all six of its MSPs losing their seats in the Scottish Parliament in
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2007.
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Sheridan and his wife Gail, 46, were charged with lying under oath following
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the case. Mrs Sheridan, a former airhostess, was acquitted of all charges on
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Friday.
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The jury of 12 women and two men yesterday returned a majority verdict on Day
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46 of the trial after deliberating for more than six hours.
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## Related Articles
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* [Andy Coulson faces new pressure in phone hacking case][12]
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15 Jan 2011
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* [Andy Coulson 'not quitting over phone hacking'][13]
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16 Jan 2011
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* [Clegg: I back Coulson probe][14]
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17 Jan 2011
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* [Scottish swingers' scandal became an ideological battle][15]
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23 Dec 2010
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Over the past three months the High Court in Glasgow has heard a lurid tale of
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sex, lies and videotape.
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Sheridan, 46, forced Andy Coulson, the Prime Minister's director of
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communications and former editor of the tabloid to give evidence, in an
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attempt to prove the newspaper had set out to "destroy" him.
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He also claimed 16 former friends and colleagues in the SSP were lying when
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they told the court he had admitted going to Cupids swingers' club in
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Manchester at an emergency meeting of the party in 2004.
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But the jury decided that he did confess at the gathering, and he failed to
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persuade them of his outlandish theory that he was the victim of a
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Machiavellian conspiracy stemming his part in defeating the poll tax and
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Margaret Thatcher.
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Following evidence from 69 witnesses in Scotland's longest-running perjury
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trial he was found guilty of five of the six allegations in a single charge of
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perjury.
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Outside court Aamer Anwar, Sheridan's lawyer, issued a statement on his behalf
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saying: "I have fought the power of News International all my political life,
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I make no apologies for taking on the might of Rupert Murdoch.
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"Several million pounds of public money have been spent on investigating me
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and my wife. Isn't it time that similar resources were spent on investigating
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the activities of the News of the World?"
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His wife Gail, 46, a former British Airways airhostess, thanked their "real
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friends" for standing by them and her husband choked back tears as she added:
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"I have and will always stand by Tommy."
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The judge Lord Bracadale released him on bail and warned him that he will face
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a jail sentence when he is sentenced on January 26.
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The couple left to chants of "innocent" from dozens of supporters as scuffles
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broke out between police officers, press photographers and members of the
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public.
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Lothian and Borders Police is said to have spent up to 52,000 hours on the
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perjury inquiry, and the entire case is thought to have cost around £4
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million.
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The jury rejected an allegation that he had an affair with Anvar Khan, a
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former News of the World journalist who said he "panicked" when he was
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recognised at the swingers' club.
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She also told the court that she told him to "keep it in his pants" or he
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would squander his ability to help people politically.
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However, the jury accepted that he had a four-year relationship with Katrine
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Trolle, 36, a Danish member of the SSP.
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She described a series of torrid sexual encounters, including a threesome with
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Mr Sheridan and his brother-in-law, sex in his office at Glasgow's City
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Chambers, and group sex at Cupids.
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The occupational therapist - who reduced Mrs Sheridan to tears - told an
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attentive court that the second time they had sex it involved Andrew
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McFarlane, who is married to Mrs Sheridan's airhostess sister Gillian.
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"We drove to his brother-in-law's house and it slowly dawned on me that all
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three of us were going to have sexual intercourse," she added. "We went inside
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and Andy opened a bottle of wine. Tommy then went upstairs and, not long
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after, I went up there too.
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"Tommy was helping me get undressed and Andy then appeared. We spent most of
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that night having sexual intercourse. We did sleep a few hours."
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She also described the visit to Cupids with Sheridan, McFarlane, Gary Clark,
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an ex-footballer and childhood friend of the ex-MSP, and Anvar Kahn.
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Her lover had described it as a "really fancy place", but it was "minging",
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she said. The group went to a side room and had sex, before moving on to a
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flat in Manchester where they had sex again with different partners.
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A secret video recorded by Geroge McNeilage, Sheridan's best man and former
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friend, in which the politician admitted going to the swingers' club, was a
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central part of the case.
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Mr McNeilage sold the tape to the News of the World for pounds200,000 after
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the libel trial.
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Although Sheridan could not be seen in the footage, ex-colleagues said it was
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his voice, while members of his family said he was more eloquent and swore
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less.
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Sheridan made a marathon five-an-a-half hour closing speech in which he broke
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down as he pleaded to be allowed to spend Christmas with his five-year-old
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daughter Gabrielle.
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The News of the World plans to appeal against the damages award in the civil
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trial.
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Bob Bird, the Scottish editor of the News of the World, said justice had been
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done, adding: "As is now clear, Mr Sheridan lied to a court to secure victory
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when he sued the News of the World for defamation in 2006.
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"We have an appeal lodged against that defamation verdict and we now look
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forward to that appeal succeeding in Scotland's Court of Session.
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"The News of the World has a proud history of exposing the hypocrisy and lies
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of the powerful.
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"Today's verdict is a vindication of good investigative journalism. We hope
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and expect our successful appeal to bring an end to this matter."
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A spokesman for the Scottish Socialist Party said the verdict would now define
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Sheridan, adding: "By his actions over six years, Tommy Sheridan has disgraced
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himself and negated his political contribution to the socialist cause over 25
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years.
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"History will now record that he did more harm to the socialist cause in
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Scotland than any good he ever did it."
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Solidarity, the party Sheridan formed after leaving the SSP, offered its
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continuing support saying its convenor was "a working class fighter who has
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waged war on poverty and injustice where ever he has found it".
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His mother Alice, a devout Catholic who embraced her son moments before the
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verdict, said afterwards that he had done "nothing but good for people all is
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life".
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Sheridan's legal team is expected to seek to appeal the verdict.
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[What are these?][16]
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* Share: [Share][1] [ ][17] [ ][18]
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[Tweet][19]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/8222353/Tommy-Sheridan-guilty-
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of-perjury-over-swingers-trips.html
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Telegraph
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## [Scotland][20]
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* ### [News »][21]
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* ### [UK News »][22]
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* ### [News Video »][23]
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* ### [Crime »][24]
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* ### [Scottish Politics »][25]
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[![Tommy Sheridan (R) and his wife Gail Sheridan make a statement outside the
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High Court on December 23, 2010 in Glasgow][28] ][9]
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### [Tommy Sheridan trial][9]
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[X][1] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][16]
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Share:
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* [ ][1]
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* [ ][17]
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* [ ][18]
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* [Tweet][19]
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* Advertisement
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var puffs_8120657 = new Array();
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