Tommy Sheridan faces perjury trial

Former Celebrity Big Brother contestant Tommy Sheridan and his wife Gail are to stand trial on perjury charges.

The charges are connected to a 2006 defamation case that Sheridan won against the News Of The World. He was awarded £200,000 after the newspaper published sex and drugs allegations about him.

However, the trial judge claimed that conflicting evidence given in court may have meant that some witnesses had perjured themselves.

The couple were charged with perjury in December 2007 following an investigation by Lothian and Borders Police.

In a statement yesterday, Sheridan's solicitor Aamer Anwar confirmed that an indictment had been served and that the couple, both 44, will appear in court on February 26. Both have denied the charges.

"As proceedings are live it would be inappropriate to comment further, other than to state that both Mr and Mrs Sheridan maintain their innocence and are determined to fight this," Anwar said.

"There will be no further statements or interviews and we would ask the media to respect the Sheridan family's privacy."

The Crown Office confirmed that the indictment contained one charge of perjury and one charge of attempted subornation of perjury against Sheridan and one charge of perjury against his wife.

Sheridan, who is a former Solidarity MSP, became the fifth person to be evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother house earlier this month.