Coulson arrested in perjury inquiry (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Coulson arrested in perjury inquiry

10:30am Wednesday 30th May 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013

David Cameron's former communications chief, Andy Coulson, has been arrested on suspicion of committing perjury during the Tommy Sheridan trial in Glasgow, the Crown Office said.

The 44-year-old was detained in London by officers from Strathclyde Police.

Coulson gave evidence in Mr Sheridan's perjury trial at the High Court in Glasgow in December 2010.

He was also arrested last year in relation to Scotland Yard's long-running investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World. He was held in July on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and corruption and had his bail extended earlier this month.

A Strathclyde Police spokesman said: "Officers from Strathclyde Police Operation Rubicon detained a 44-year-old man in London this morning under section 14 of the Criminal Procedures Scotland Act on suspicion of committing perjury before the High Court in Glasgow. It would be inappropriate to comment any further at this time."

It is understood Coulson is on his way to Glasgow.

Operation Rubicon detectives have been looking at whether certain witnesses lied to the court during Sheridan's trial as part of a "full" investigation into phone hacking in Scotland.

Coulson, then employed by Downing Street as director of communications, told the trial in December 2010 he had no knowledge of illegal activities by reporters while he was editor of the News of the World. He also claimed: "I don't accept there was a culture of phone hacking at the News of the World."

Former Scottish Socialist Party leader Sheridan was ultimately jailed for three years in January 2011 after being found guilty of perjury during his 2006 defamation action against the News of the World. He was awarded £200,000 in damages after winning the civil case but a jury at the High Court in Glasgow found him guilty of lying about the now-defunct tabloid's claims that he was an adulterer who visited a swingers' club. The former MSP was released from jail in January after serving one year of his sentence.

Coulson resigned as editor of the News of the World in 2007 after the paper's former royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed for phone hacking. Only months later, in May that year, he was unveiled as director of communications and planning with the Conservative Party. He quit his role as Downing Street communications chief in January 2011 after admitting the News of the World phone hacking row was making his job impossible.