A former leader of Scotland's Socialist Party who won a $400,000 libel suit against publisher Rupert Murdoch's News of the World was arrested yesterday on charges of perjury. One-time member of parliament Tommy Sheridan claimed the bust was a "witch hunt orchestrated and influenced by the powerful reach of the Murdoch empire.”
In the libel case last year, Sheridan denied newspaper reports that he used cocaine and went to a swingers' club. Eleven members of Sheridan’s own political party testified that he spoke of going to the club. A judge warned that the inconsistencies would result in an "inevitable" perjury investigation. Sheridan was arrested as he exited his weekly radio show. (More Rupert Murdoch stories.)