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Andy Coulson declares he will 'vigorously contest' perjury charge

By Hamish Mackay

June 1, 2012 | 2 min read

Prime Minister David Cameron's former director of communications Andy Coulson has declared he is to "vigorously contest" a perjury charge over the Tommy Sheridan trial.

Coulson, 44, a former editor of the now-defunct News of the World, was detained at his home in London on Wednesday, taken to Glasgow for questioning, then formally charged and arrested that evening.

The charge related to evidence he gave at the perjury trial of former MSP Tommy Sheridan in 2010 in which Coulson gave evidence.

BBC News reports that Coulson's lawyer said he would fight the allegations if they went to trial.

A statement from DLA Piper said: "Andy Coulson will vigorously contest the perjury allegations made against him yesterday by Strathclyde Police should they ever result in a trial.

"We have no further comment at this stage."

The Crown Office has said that no date had been set for any court appearance by Coulson. Scotland's prosecution service will now take a decision about whether he should face a trial.

Coulson resigned from the post of the Prime Minister’s director of communications in January 2011, saying coverage of the News of the World phone hacking scandal had "made it difficult to give the 110% needed in this role".

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