Former No 10 spin chief Andy Coulson has appeared in court charged with perjury

Former Downing Street communications director and News of the World editor, Andy Coulson (Getty Images)

Andy Coulson, the former Downing Street director of communications, has appeared in court in Scotland charged with perjury.

Details of his private appearance at Glasgow Sheriff Court last week, where he made no plea or declaration and was granted bail, was only made possible after a successful legal challenge overturned an earlier court order which banned any media reporting of the legal proceedings.

Mr Coulson, 45, was detained at his London home last May and driven 400 miles to Glasgow by officers from the former Strathclyde Police.

He was held at Glasgow police station, questioned and later charged.

Mr Coulson, a former editor of the News of the World before moving into Number 10 as David Cameron's spin chief, was represented at last week's hearing by the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Richard Keen QC.