Tommy Sheridan convicted of perjury during News of the World defamation case
Following a 12-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow, former MSP Tommy Sheridan has been convicted of perjury during his defamation case against the News of the World.
Sheridan successful sued the tabloid newspaper in 2006 for £200,000 after it reported in a series of stories that he had attended a sex club in Manchester in 2004, along with reports that he had had an affair.
The newspaper also claimed to have a video tape of Sheridan admitting to attending the club - which Sheridan claimed was false.
Former editor of The News of the World, Andy Coulson, now head of communications for the Conservative Party, was called as one of the witnesses in the case.
It took the jury just six hours to convict Sheridan.
His wife, Gail, was last week acquitted of perjury in the same trial, which is thought to be the longest-running perjury case in the history of Scottish law.
In a statement, Sheridan, said: "For three years my wife and I have faced charges of perjury. Today, I was convicted and Gail was acquitted of any crime. I have fought the power of News International all my political life, and I make no apologies for taking on the might of Rupert Murdoch. Several million pounds of public money was spent investigating me and my wife. Is it not time that similar resources were devoted to investigating the activities of the News of the World."