Tommy Sheridan: The Best Quotes From An Entertaining Case Of Beckham, Sex And Lies
IT took the law 12 weeks to find that Tommy Sheridan, once leader of the Scottish Socialist party and MSP, lied under oath.
In August 2006, Sheridan told the court that the News of The World had made up the story that he has had visited a Manchester sex club. He was awarded £200,000 damages.
How did the NoTW know? Well, he lied about an extramarital affair with journalist Anvar Khan. And a pest controller named George McNeilage sold the NoTW (for £200,000) a video of Sheridan, apparently calling his confession to party colleagues that he visited Cupid’s club the “biggest mistake” of his life.
But the best bit was when he told the jurors:
“I’m frightened of you. I’m frightened of you because you can do something that the NoW will never be able to do. You can separate me from my wife. You can make me break a promise to my daughter that I would spend Christmas with her.”
The moments requiring honourable mentions:
“In every city, every court, every day, two sides are arguing over serious crimes, like murder, rape and assault … There are two sides to every story and one loses. Why do we not have perjury trials every day?” – Tommy Sheridan makes a fair point
In the 24 years I have known you, I have only heard you say f*** a number of times. This makes you sound like Cartman from South Park” – Steve Arnott, former regional organiser for the Scottish Socialist Party in the Highlands
“He had presented himself quite deliberately and consciously as a very squeaky-clean politician, who constantly referred to his relationship with Gail, and who was seen, I think, as almost the Daniel O’Donnell of Scottish politics, somebody who was very, very clean” – Alan McCombes, former press officer of the Scottish Socialist Party.
“Should have gone to Specsavers” – Rosie Kane tries to read a document
“JK Rowling could not make up the kind of stories you have made up. It is Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings combined, Tommy”– Alan McCombes, former press officer of the Scottish Socialist Party
“You could have done a Hugh Grant and put your hands up to it, and people would have respected you for that. David Beckham was the other – to just ignore it, don’t do anything. Jeffrey Archer would have been a worst case scenario” – Rosie Kane, former Scottish Socialist Party MSP
“What troubled me more was his intention to go down the same route as the infamous Jeffrey Archer in claiming the truth was lies and the lies were truth” – Allan Green, former national secretary of the Scottish Socialist Party
“It definitely felt like that to me when I saw the outcome of this trial (Tommy Sheridan’s defamation trial). It was a bit like hearing that OJ was declared innocent. It was a bit of a shock” – Elizabeth Quinn
Posted: 23rd, December 2010 | In: Politicians Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
