| Tommy Sheridan perjury witness tells of suppressed 'confession' papers Former Scottish Socialist party leader denies lying in libel case against News of the World and claims minutes implicating him have been fabricatedSenior figures in the Scottish Socialist party discussed "destroying or changing" minutes that recorded an alleged confession of adultery by party leader Tommy Sheridan, a court has been told.A perjury trial in Glasgow heard that the party was worried that the confidential minutes "would drop Tommy in it" and would damage the party's reputation if they were leaked to the press.Sheridan and his wife, Gail, both 46, are on trial at the high court in Glasgow for perjury after allegedly lying about his visits to a sex club and his affairs when they won a dramatic £200,000 libel victory over the News of World in August 2006.The couple deny the charges and claim the minutes were fabricated by their enemies. On the second day of a trial that is expected to last up to 10 weeks, the jury heard further evidence about the handling of the minutes and disclosures about an "anti-Sheridan faction" inside the SSP.Barbara Scott, the SSP official who took the minutes, said senior party figures took the "political" decision to suppress the minutes. "There was a lot of talk in the party whether to destroy the papers or change them or pretend they didn't exist," she told the court.This was partly because "the party didn't want to hand them over because it would drop Tommy in it," she said."It was a personal matter," she said. "They were our documents and the state didn't have any right to see the documents." Asked about the NoW, she said: "I knew what he was going to say was lies but at the same time I don't like the News of the World – I don't think it's a very nice newspaper. It's a rightwing rag that prints horrible pictures of women."The court was also told that a powerful faction hostile to Sheridan known as United Left had emerged within the SSP before the sex scandal came to light.The party was also facing financial problems, with a shortfall of £76,000 and a dispute over £17,000 missing from its north-east region, the then treasurer, Allison Kane, later told the jury. The party was worried that if Sheridan sued the NoW, it could face a hefty legal bill.Cross-examined by Maggie Scott QC, for Sheridan, Scott said she had been a member of United Left and was friends with two of Sheridan's main critics, Carolyn Leckie and Rosie Kane. But she denied it was the "anti-Sheridan faction".Scott was then accused of being deliberately deceitful and cunning by Gail Sheridan's lawyer, Paul McBride QC, because she failed to tell the libel trial in 2006 that she had the crucial minutes in her handbag with her as she gave evidence. She waited until after Sheridan had won his libel action before presenting the documents to the police at a stage-managed event where the press were invited. She denied McBride's assertion that she was publicity hungry.The trial continues.ScotlandCrimeScottish politicsNews of the WorldNews Internationalguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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