Coulson faces prosecution over Tommy Sheridan

Coulson faces prosecution over Tommy Sheridan perjury trial

Convicted phone hacker Andy Coulson now faces perjury charges after giving evidence that led to the jailing of Scottish socialist Tommy Sheridan, also on a perjury charge, in December 2010.

Coulson, the former editor of the News of the World (NoW) and spin doctor to Tory Prime Minister David Cameron, was sentenced to 18 months in jail last week after being found guilty of phone hacking charges. His new (preliminary) trial will start in August.

Back in 2010 Coulson appeared as a prosecution witness, giving evidence over two days, in which he denied under questioning by Tommy Sheridan that he knew anything about the illegal phone hacking activities of NoW journalist Glenn Mulcaire. As a result, Tommy was jailed for three years.

Clearly, in the light of Coulson’s subsequent conviction, Tommy’s trial would never have taken place and he would have been a free man. But as the Socialist pointed out at the time, the political establishment was fully behind News International’s vengeful campaign to have Tommy’s original libel trial victory against the NoW overturned.

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