Wife of ex-MSP Tommy Sheridan cleared of lying in court during her husband's defamation action against Sunday paper
The wife of the former MSP Tommy Sheridan was cleared of perjury today. Gail Sheridan, 46, had been accused of lying to the courts during her husband's successful defamation action against the News of the World in 2006.
Prosecutors at the high court in Glasgow dropped the remaining charge of making false statements while under oath.
Gail Sheridan had been accused of lying as a witness at the court of session in Edinburgh by claiming she had checked her and her husband's diaries for November 2001 and 2002, and they had spent every weekend together.
Last month, the Scottish Crown Office dropped several other allegations against the Sheridans, though Tommy faces one charge of perjury.
He denies lying to the courts during the action against the News of the World, which followed the newspaper's claims he was an adulterer who visited swingers' clubs. He won �200,000 in damages.
Advocate depute Alex Prentice said he made the decision taking into account her "personal circumstances" and because he had earlier dropped a portion of the evidence against Sheridan".
The couple met as pupils at Lourdes secondary school in Glasgow, but it was years later that romance blossomed. Despite saying he did not believe in marriage, Sheridan proposed to his partner on holiday in Cuba, in 1996. They were married in their home city in June 2000 and returned to Cuba for their honeymoon. Four years later, the Sheridans were expecting their first child.
Every day for 10 weeks, Gail Sheridan walked by her husband's side into the court, looking confident and poised. She often held her husband's hand as she arrived to appear in the dock alongside him.
Inside the courtroom, she listened to claims he had cheated on her, which Sheridan denies. It was only after the Scottish Socialist party member Katrine Trolle told the court she had sex with the former MSP in his marital bed that Gail appeared visibly shaken and the trial was briefly adjourned.
The news of the acquittal was met with cheers from the public gallery as she wept and hugged her husband in the dock. The judge formally cleared her and she was allowed to leave.
Outside, Gail's solicitor, John-Paul Mowberry, read a statement on her behalf. "After 44 days of trial, Gail stands cleared of all criminal charges. However, no further statement can be made due to ongoing proceedings," he said.
The trial has been adjourned until Monday.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/dec/17/gail-sheridan-cleared-perjury
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