Former Socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan has been ditched by Edinburgh radio station Talk 107 because he was too “confrontational”.
The politician, who appeared in court last week charged with perjury, has presented a weekly talk show on the station for the past 18 months.
A spokesman for Talk 107 parent company UTV Radio said the move had “absolutely no connection whatsoever” with the ongoing investigation into whether he lied during a 2006 libel trial against the News of the World, in which he won £200,000.
Sheridan and his wife Gail were both released on bail after a private hearing at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court last Thursday.
“Tommy’s style of broadcasting was quite confrontational. People don’t want to hear that. They want more balance,” the spokesman said.
“There are other presenters [on the station] who chair a debate – that’s not Tommy’s style.”
Sheridan’s departure is the fourth from the station in recent weeks, which has parted company with its breakfast presenter Susan Morrison, programme director Mike Graham and late-night presenter Scottie McClue.
Talk 107, which launched in 2006, was the first commercial talk radio station to launch outside of London, and is owned by the same company as TalkSport.
The station, which was the brainchild of former Sun editor Kelvin Mackenzie, has a weekly audience of 35,000 adults, according to official data from Rajar.
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