Former Socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan and his wife Gail are in court today on perjury charges in connection with his News of the World libel case.
The couple are attending a preliminary hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh. It is expected that a trial date will be set during the hearing.
Sheridan was arrested in December 2007 after a probe into allegations of lying under oath during his successful £200,000 action against the News of the World at the Court of Session in the Scottish capital.
His wife was charged with perjury by police in February last year. The following month, the couple appeared in private at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and were released on bail.
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Today will be the first time the case has called in a public court since the couple were served with legal papers confirming that the prosecution would go ahead.
Sheridan, who appeared on Channel 4’s Celebrity Big Brother earlier this year, was awarded the six-figure damages after he took the News of the World to court in 2006.
The Sunday tabloid had published sex claims against the former Glasgow MSP.
The perjury investigation was launched after a judge said conflicting evidence in the trial might have meant some people were perjuring themselves.
Sheridan and his wife have always denied the allegations and criticised the way Lothian and Borders Police handled the investigation.
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