Tommy Sheridan (born 7 March
1964, Glasgow
) is a
Scottish
socialist politician. He has had various
prominent roles within the socialist movement in Scotland and is
currently one of two co-convenors of the left-wing Scottish
political party Solidarity.
He attended the
Roman Catholic
schools of St Monica's Primary and
Lourdes Secondary before entering
the
University of Stirling,
from which he graduated with an honours degree in Economics. He
obtained a
MSc in Social Research
at the
University of
Strathclyde in 2008. He is currently studying law at
Strathclyde Law School, on the two
year fastrack degree.
Sheridan was active as a
Militant
tendency entryist in the
Labour Party, before leaving Labour as
a member of
Scottish Militant
Labour (SML).
He was a leading campaigner against the
poll tax in Scotland, and was
jailed for six months for attending a warrant sale after Glasgow Sheriff
Court had served a court order on him banning his presence.
He has
also been jailed twice as a consequence of his campaigning against
the presence of the nuclear fleet at Faslane Naval Base
.
In 2006 in the case of
Sheridan v News International
he won an action for defamation against the
News of the World and was awarded
£200,000 damages. On Sunday 16 December 2007, Tommy Sheridan was
charged with
perjury In the following weeks
half a dozen of his relations and colleagues were also charged. On
27 January 2009, he was indicted to stand trial for perjury,
together with this wife,
Gail. Sheridan has previously
stated "the streets of Lothian must be crime-free if the police can
devote time to harassing a family", following the charging of two
with perjury, not to mention five others who "are my
friends".
Since
leaving Holyrood
, he has pursued a media career, with a chat show on
Talk 107, a show at the Edinburgh Fringe and appearing on
Celebrity Big Brother
2009 for a reported fee of £100,000. He has justified this
appearance by saying that he needed the money and that it is "..an
honest offer of employment. I'm not crossing a picket line. I'm not
hurting anyone."
It was announced in March 2009 that Sheridan would be standing as a
candidate in the
2009
European Parliament elections for
No to the EU – Yes to
Democracy, a left-wing
alter-globalisation coalition led by
RMT
union leader
Bob Crow, although there
appeared to be some confusion over whether he would take up his
seat if elected.
Political career
Militant tendency
Sheridan was a prominent member of the
Militant tendency whilst a student at
Stirling University. After graduating he went to
Cardonald College as a typing student as
part of an (unsuccessful) effort on the part of Militant to recruit
Scottish Labour Students in
further-education colleges. The Labour Party leadership under
Neil Kinnock was determined to remove
any member of the Militant tendency and Sheridan himself was
expelled from the
Labour Party in
1989.
From within the Militant, he was the public face of a mass
non-payment campaign against the poll tax in Scotland (where it was
introduced a year earlier than other parts of the UK). The campaign
involving the refusal to pay the tax, together with resistance to
warrant sales which local councils
held to try to recoup the money, was ultimately successful and
Sheridan became a popular political figure. With Joan McAlpine, he
published
A Time to Rage which chronicled the
anti-poll tax movement
of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Joan has since written about the
young man she knew during that turbulent youthful period, with
reference in particular to the
libel case.
As the highest profile Militant member in Scotland, Sheridan was a
leading figure in the group's split in the early 1990s. Expelled
from the Labour Party in 1989 he was emboldened by the success of
the campaign against the poll tax; many Militant members -
particularly in Scotland - argued for the abandonment of
entryism and for the creation of
Scottish Militant Labour and
Militant Labour in England and Wales
as separate political parties.
The argument was resolved when Sheridan and his supporters won a
vote at a special conference held in Bridlington in October 1991,
defeating the faction around Militant founder
Ted Grant who argued against abandoning the Labour
Party. The result was a split in the Militant in what has become
known as the "Scottish Turn". Sheridan and Scottish Militant Labour
enjoyed a brief success in its first few years. However, political
developments in Scotland, with a strong nationalist party (SNP),
and a feeling that the left could fill a demand for socialist
politics caused in part by the rightward shift of New Labour,
Scottish Militant Labour argued in favour of founding a new,
left-wing political party. Discussions were held with other
left-wing and Scottish republican groups and a new group was formed
in 1996 known initially as the
Scottish Socialist Alliance. In
1998, the new
Scottish
Socialist Party was formed from the SSA. Differences over
political strategy and priorities within the CWI soon surfaced,
especially on the issue of Scottish independence, leading to a
split within the CWI and Sheridan along with the majority of
Scottish supporters left the organisation.
Sheridan fought two elections while in prison, coming second in the
Pollok constituency at the
1992 General Election,
beating both the
Conservatives and the
Scottish National Party.
A few
weeks later he won the Pollok
ward on
Glasgow City
Council
. He contested the European
Parliament
election in 1994 as the SML candidate in Glasgow,
and came third with 8% of votes cast.
Scottish Socialist Party
Tommy Sheridan was a leading figure in the negotiations to
establish the
Scottish
Socialist Alliance in 1996, which evolved into the
Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) in
1998.
He
was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as a Glasgow
representative and re-elected in 2003. Together with
Alan McCombes he published
Imagine, an outline of the principles of socialism for a
modern era.
He was the convenor of the SSP from its formation until 11 November
2004, when he resigned, citing as a prime reason his wife
Gail expecting their first child.
The resignation was steeped in controversy. After his announcement
that he was stepping down for family reasons, the
News of the World ran a series of
articles, among other allegations claiming that he had had an
extramarital affair. Sheridan strenuously denied the accusations
and quickly announced his intention to sue.
The minutes of the meeting which detailed the deliberations leading
to Sheridan's resignation were kept confidential until subpoenaed
by
News International.
Alan McCombes was ordered to appear before
judge Lady Smith at the Court of
Session
, Edinburgh
, when he refused to release the minutes. He
was jailed for 12 days, at which point the party agreed to hand
over the minutes as part of the subsequent court case and were then
made public. The minutes included a discussion about a recent
article in the
News of the World which alleged that a
married MSP had visited a
swingers' club in
Manchester, and also the alleged admission by Sheridan "that he had
in fact visited the club on two occasions, in 1996 and 2002 with
close friends. Some of those present at the meeting were later
cited as witnesses for News International, including
Alan McCombes, the then MSP's
Rosie Kane,
Carolyn
Leckie, and then
Glasgow City
Councillor and best man at Sheridan's wedding, Keith
Baldassara, to give evidence that they had heard Sheridan
acknowledge he had been "reckless" in his behaviour which had, with
hindsight, been "a mistake" and that "his strategy was to deny the
allegations". Others present, notably
Rosemary Byrne MSP, gave evidence that
Sheridan had made no such statement. The disputed minutes recorded
that Sheridan left the meeting early, but before leaving, according
to the minute, "he repeated that he did not believe there was any
evidence which would prove him to be lying. He did not accept that
he should admit the visits to the club and felt that no-one should
comment on private lives". Sheridan claimed in court that the
minute was not accurate and that he had denied visiting the
swingers' club.
At the annual conference of the SSP in early 2005 Sheridan was
elected to the SSP executive and at the March 2006 conference he
was elected as party co-chair.
However Sheridan announced that he was
leaving the SSP in August 2006, after his prominent court-case
victory, accusing the SSP of being part of "the mother of all
stitch ups" involving not only their leadership, but also MI5
and News International..
Solidarity (Scotland)
In September 2006 Tommy Sheridan announced the formation of a new
political party in Scotland named
Solidarity, with fellow MSP
Rosemary Byrne co-leading. Sheridan narrowly
failed to be re-elected in the
2007 Holyrood election as
top of his party's list nominees for Glasgow. The party also stood
a candidate in the
Glasgow East by-election,
2008 (finishing sixth in a nine-person race) and the
Glenrothes by-election, 2008
(finishing last amongst eight candidates).
Defamation action
- See main article Sheridan v News
International.
Hearings
in Sheridan's defamation case against the publishers of the
News of the World began
in the Court of
Session in Edinburgh on 4 July 2006. Unusually in Scottish civil
proceedings, the case was heard before a
jury.
The jury
heard allegations that Sheridan had visited a swingers clubs in Manchester
and engaged in adulterous affairs with two
women. Sheridan, who claims to be a
teetotaller, reportedly drunk
champagne and consumed
cocaine during an extramarital liaison. Sheridan
denies drinking the champagne and the claim of substance abuse.
Eleven members of the
SSP's
executive committee testified that he admitted in an Executive
committee meeting to attending a swingers club with women, but
another four members of the SSP who were present at that Executive
meeting backed Sheridan's claim that he made no such admission at
that meeting.
On 14 July 2006, Sheridan sacked his legal team and announced that
he would represent himself following controversy over the source of
a question over credit card fraud addressed to one of the
witnesses.
On 4 August 2006, Sheridan won his case with a majority verdict of
7 - 4 and the jury awarded him maximum damages of £200,000. The
News of the World has appealed the verdict. In the
Scottish Socialist
Voice of 8 August, a letter signed by a further six
leading members of the SSP claimed that Sheridan had told them that
he had admitted at an SSP Executive meeting to attending the
Manchester swingers club.
The
News of the World
announced its intention to appeal what they described as the
"perverse" decision in the immediate aftermath of the trial, and a
provisional date for the hearing was set for December 2007, however
it was postponed until the
procurator
fiscal announced the outcome of the perjury probe..
Allegations of witness intimidation
On 10 October 2006,
BBC News reported that
Grampian Police were investigating a
claim by Fiona McGuire, who had been a witness in the trial for the
News of the World, that she had received a death threat
through the post. In a statement to the BBC, Sheridan said: "I
utterly condemn any threats to Fiona McGuire or any other
individual".
On 26 August 2007, the Sunday Herald reported that John Lynn had
been questioned by detectives about allegations of witness
tampering. Lynn is reportedly an associate of Paul Ferris, a
reformed criminal who has become friendly with Sheridan. The report
said Helen Allison, who claimed in court that she saw Sheridan
having sex in a Glasgow hotel, had been approached by Lynn who
asked her not to give evidence. Lynn was once jailed for 17 years
for shooting an
Ulster barman.
Hidden video
On 1 October 2006, the
News of the World reignited
controversy by publishing what it claimed was new evidence in
support of its claim that Sheridan lied to the Court of Session.
The newspaper said it was a video recording of Tommy Sheridan
admitting he visited a swingers club in Manchester on two occasions
and further, that he (Sheridan) had, as other senior SSP members
claimed in court, admitted this at an Executive meeting of the SSP.
The tape had been made without Sheridan's knowledge using a hidden
camera by SSP member George McNeillage in McNeillage's house after
he invited Sheridan there. McNeillage had been one of three best
men at Sheridan's wedding.
The transcript, and excerpts from the tape, can be found on the
News of the World website. The full legal implications of the tape
are not yet clear.
Tommy Sheridan does not appear on the video at any time. The
newspaper has not been able to produce any images from the video
showing Sheridan's face and Sheridan says the video is a fake. He
conceded his voice was on the tape but suggested it was "spliced"
with clips of someone else's.
[44494]The
News of the World claimed four
independent voice analysts confirmed that the voice on the tape is
Tommy Sheridan's. But in an interview with the BBC a forensic
speech scientist, Peter French, said: "Experts should never say
conclusively they have identified a person and this kind of
evidence should never solely be used to bring a criminal
trial".
Sheridan then suggested that MI5, the Bush government, the SSP and
Rupert Murdoch conspired to concoct the videotape to undermine his
campaign for an independent socialist Scotland.
Perjury probe
The conflicting evidence given during the trial resulted in the
judge warning several witnesses about the implications of perjuring
themselves.
On Monday 7 August 2006, Lothian and Borders Police said they had
received two complaints of possible perjury during the hearing, one
from the former Conservative MSP Brian Monteith, the other alleged
to be from the SSP's minutes secretary and confirmed they were in
consultation with the Crown Office on whether to investigate.
On 22 August 2006, the Crown Office announced it had instructed the
Edinburgh Procurators Fiscal office to examine all of the evidence
given in the defamation case and ascertain if there were grounds
for a criminal investigation. On 2 October 2006, the fiscal at
Edinburgh concluded there were grounds and ordered Lothian and
Borders Police to carry out a criminalinvestigation . On 21
February 2007,
The Herald reported that the
Crown Office had asked
Lothian and Borders Police to
undertake a full inquiry after receiving a preliminary
report.
In March 2007, Sheridan claimed his car had been bugged. He said he
didn't believe MI5 were responsible. He also denied that he had
been responsible for planting the device as a diversion to the
mounting perjury investigation.
In May 2007, it was reported that staff at Cupids Swingers Club in
Manchester had told police they had been offered bribes not to
co-operate with the inquiry.
On 16 December 2007, Sheridan was charged with perjury in relation
to the
News of the World case. In a public statement
outside the police station he attributed his arrest to the
"powerful reach" of the Murdoch press. On 20 February 2008,
The Times reported Sheridan's
wife, Gail, had been charged with perjury along with former SSP MSP
Rosemary Byrne, and former members of
the SSP Executive Committee, Patricia Smith, Graeme McIver, Jock
Penman. Sheridan's father-in-law, Angus Healey was also
charged.
On 2 January 2009, it was reported that the
Crown Office had until March 2009 to decide
whether or not to proceed with the prosecution of Sheridan and his
co-accused. It was also reported his bail conditions required him
to notify the authorities of a temporary change of address to
Elstree Studios in London during his appearance on Celebrity Big
Brother. On 27 January 2009 it was announced that Sheridan and his
wife had been indicted for perjury, and had been summoned to attend
a pre-trial hearing at Edinburgh High Court on 26 February. The
trial is expected to take place later in 2009. .On 13 February, it
was reported that both sides in the perjury case had successfully
applied for a postponement of the preliminary hearing. The hearing
will now take place on 11 May 2009. .
The costs of the case up to the point where Sheridan was indicted
had reached a minimum of £1.5 million
It was reported in the Scottish press on 25 September 2009 that,
the perjury trial which is due to start in around four months "will
have about 180 witnesses and is expected to last three months,
which would make Scotland's longest perjury case". It was also
reported that Sheridan's defence team has dropped
Donald Findlay one of Scotland’s top QCs who
had been working on the case since December 2007. He will be
replaced by
Maggie Scott QC, who
until recently led the appeal by the man convicted of the Lockerbie
bombing,
Abdelbaset Ali
Mohmed Al Megrahi.
Support for Sheridan
On 17 December 2007 Sunday Herald columnist Iain McWhirter
questioned the investigation saying "it is hard not to conclude
that the police's diligence has been inspired by Rupert Murdoch's
News International."
A campaign by Sheridan's supporters, 'Defend Tommy Sheridan' was
launched, calling for answers into the nature of this investigation
and the reasons behind it. The campaign has received widespread
support and funding from individuals, political campaigners and
civil rights activists, including high-profile left-wing politician
George Galloway MP: John McManus, head of MOJO, the
organisation which campaigns against miscarriages of justice: The
Royale Family actor and left-wing political campaigner
Ricky Tomlinson:
Paddy
Hill of the
Birmingham Six:
Gerry Conlon of the
Guildford Four: Singers
Paul Heaton (Beautiful South) and
Edwyn Collins.Leading trade unionists
Bob Crow (RMT), Janice Godrich (PCS), Kenny Ross
(FBU) all support the campaign as do many on the political left in
Scotland and throughout Britain and beyond.
On 21 February 2008, Daily Telegraph columnist Alan Cochrane
questioned the treatment of the Sheridans by the police and claimed
that his view was shared by "Senior members of Scotland's legal
fraternity, including some with the closest of links to the
Scottish Executive".
On 23 February, Iain Hamilton QC, in his personal blog 'a drunk man
looks at the thistle' asked "Tommy Sheridan has been vindicated by
a jury of his peers. A jury heard the evidence and awarded him
damages. It is no part of the duty of our police to prove the jury
wrong and a newspaper right. Edinburgh and Lothians Police are
conducting a vendetta against justice itself. Who can curb these
officers who are clearly out of control?"
In June
2008 a packed rally of the Defend Tommy Sheridan Campaign, heard
speeches from Paddy Hill convicted on
fabricated police evidence and jailed for 17 years for bombing pubs
in Birmingham
and Gerry Conlon, one
of the Guildford Four, another who
was framed by police officers and spent 15 years in jail for a
crime he did not committ. Fire Brigades Union leader Kenny
Ross and other speakers attacked the motives for the investigation,
questioned the role of the police and
Crown
Office and slammed the witnesses who had stood against Tommy
Sheridan in the original hearing.
On 11 February 2009, Scottish law magazine "The Firm" claimed that
Police had put "incredible pressure' on the Crown Office to proceed
with a case against Gail and Tommy Sheridan. Lothian and Borders
Police and the Crown Office deny the claims.
Celebrity career
In 2001, Sheridan provided vocals for "Daddy dog", a single and
track on the album "Popartglory" by Scottish band Jasmine Minks,
released on
Alan McGee's label Poptones.
Tommy Sheridan had a weekly Sunday morning show on
Talk 107 for 18 months, but the station did not
renew his contract due to cutbacks and changes to programming that
saw
Mike Graham and others leave
Talk107. He hosted a chat show during the Edinburgh fringe in 2007,
which received muted reviews. He appeared in the
Celebrity version of
Big Brother UK. He was the fourth person to
enter the Big Brother House, and the fifth to be evicted (during
the double eviction on 21 January 2009). He received mixed
reactions from the crowd upon both entry and exit, and admitted
during the post-eviction interview that his primary motivation for
taking part was that he "needed the money".
References
- Scots Law News, Edinburgh Law School
- Sheridan charged in perjury probe", BBC News,
16 December 2007
- Ian Dow "Gail Sheridan Charged With Perjury", Daily
Record, February 20, 2008
- Mark Smith "Exclusive: Tommy Sheridan to stand for Euro
elections", Daily Record, 10 March 2009
- "No To EU - RMT launches election campaign",
Socialist Worker, 24 March 2009
-
http://www.legalprospects.com/cgi-bin/directnews_view_article.cgi?article_id=17442813&channel_page_code=LEGSEC
-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/5253328.stm
- Paul Hutcheon "Police investigate ‘bribery’ allegation in
Sheridan case", Sunday Herald, c.18 March 2007.
Retrieved on 3 August 2007.
- BBC NEWS | Scotland | Sheridan charged in perjury
probe
-
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2484960.0.Tommy_and_Gail_Sheridan_indicted_on_perjury_charge.php
-
http://www.journal-online.co.uk/article/5438-sheridan-back-in-dock-for-perjury
-
http://www.defendtommysheridan.org/defend/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=28
-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/alancochrane/3555267/Dark-days-for-Tommy-Sheridan---and-justice.html
- http://ianhamiltonqc.com/blog/
- http://www.thefirmmagazine.com
- jasmine minks Popartglory
-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7323369.stm |
title=Sheridan dropped from radio show | date=1 April 2008
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
