A former leader of the Scottish Socialist Party was charged with perjury today, in relation to a defamation case he won last year against a tabloid newspaper which claimed he took part in sex orgies.
Following a three-week trial in August 2006, Tommy Sheridan, 43, won €280,000 in damages over claims that he cheated on his wife, participated in orgies and visited a swingers club.
The News of the World had based its story on claims made by the weekly's reporter Anvar Khan, whom Sheridan admitted having had a sexual relationship with before his marriage.
Today nine police officers searched his home while Sheridan was detained in an Edinburgh police station.
Standing beside his lawyer outside the police station, Sheridan told reporters that he believed he was 'the victim of a political witch hunt.'
