Sheridan goes on attack in face of perjury claims

For a man facing a possible jail sentence for perjury, the destruction of his career and even the end of his marriage, Tommy Sheridan was in a remarkably confident mood yesterday.

Adhering to the old adage that attack is the best form of defence the former leader of the Scottish Socialist Party tried to shrug off renewed allegations in the News of the World that he not only cheated on his wife at swingers' sex parties but also committed perjury in court.

He announced that he would not be taking the paper to court but said that was because he could not afford to do so.

Speaking ahead of a public meeting in Dundee to recruit new members for his fledgling Solidarity Party, Mr Sheridan countered claims made at the weekend by the News of the World that he had been captured on a secret video confessing to almost everything he denied in court.

Following the release of the video, the Crown Office issued a statement on Monday announcing the start of a perjury investigation into the trial which resulted in Mr Sheridan being awarded £200,000 in damages.

During the 23-day court case several members of the Scottish Socialist Party and fellow MSPs testified that Mr Sheridan had admitted to attending a sex club called Cupids and had indulged in extra-marital relationships.

Mr Sheridan and several of his witnesses denied he had ever made such a confession prompting the judge, Lord Turnbull, to comment that a perjury investigation was all but certain as the contradictory testimony suggested somebody was lying. The maximum sentence for perjury in Scotland is life imprisonment.

Last Sunday the News of the World, who have appealed the case, printed seven pages of fresh allegations relating to a video which purported to show Mr Sheridan confessing to a friend. The tape was made secretly by George McNeilage, who was Mr Sheridan's best man at his wedding to wife Gail.

The paper claimed that Mr McNeilage had held back from releasing the video earlier because he was certain Mr Sheridan would lose his court case. The News of the World, which printed a full transcript of the taped conversation, claimed to have had it examined by voice experts who were satisfied it was genuine.

Yesterday, Mr Sheridan declared that the video was a fake and that he was the victim of the "mother of all stitch ups".

Referring to a television advert Mr Sheridan said that with modern technology it was easy to concoct a video. "If you were to believe everything you see or hear then you really would think that Elvis Presley recently introduced Noel Gallagher as the lead guitarist in a music concert," he said. "The fact of the matter is that, with computer graphics as they are, anyone's voice can be spliced into a sentence or sentences."

Surrounded by supporters Mr Sheridan played to the crowd. He drew applause as he claimed he was the victim of a political conspiracy involving Rupert Murdoch, the tycoon's media empire and MI5. "We believe it is a badge of honour to be attacked by the News of the World and The Sun because they epitomise everything we oppose as socialists," he shouted. "They are an anti-trade union rag, they are an anti-socialist empire, they promote overtly sexism, racism and division within society. The fact they have chosen to attack me personally and Solidarity shows that they fear what we stand for."

He even caused a ripple of laughter among his supporters when he said that far from fearing the perjury investigation, he was appealing for clemency in advance for Bob Bird, the editor in Scotland of the News of the World. "I don't like Bob Bird but I don't want him to go to jail. I would rather he was given community service for the lies he told."