Who better to wear the chains than those who forged them

The News of the World, as expected, has not taken its historic court defeat at the hands of former Scottish Socialist Party MSP Tommy Sheridan lying down. They have now obtained a tape, recorded before the court case by a (presumably former) friend, where he admits the allegations of the paper and states plainly that he is prepared to lie in court to win the case.

The Times says that "A spokesman for Mr Sheridan's new party said that there was nothing in the transcript of the tape that impacted on the evidence given by any member of Solidarity in court. " Is it or isn't if? Party considers it over tea

Of course this is patent nonsense. If the tape is genuine which (despite Sheridan's insistencee that it is fake) it almost certainly is then it directly contradicts what he said in court when berating fellow socialist Alan McCoombes, when denying he confessed to the SSP executive and over his 'robust' treatment of a former lover in the witness box. Read the transcript here (and apologies for linking to the News of the World).

The problem with his denials of the tape's authenticity is, of course, he is heard on tape advocating a strategy of brazening out any accusation with simple denials and hope that the other side lack evidence to prove their case.

He also says "I guarantee you if I am presented with incontrovertible evidence - video tapes, CCTV, something of that character, I'll put my hand up and say IÂ’m sorry, sorry to the party, sorry to my wife, sorry to my family and I'll walk away. I'll walk away. But I'm no prepared to give in to f ***** g bullying because that's what the News of the World, in my opinion, is doing right now - f ***** g bullying. They have been told it's me but they can't prove it."

Alas, it seems Sheridan is not being true to his word here. After all he has gone too far down the road to turn back, even if the warnings of his closest advisors of the time now seem completely vindicated. If he is deemed to have lied under oath and convicted of perjury he would undoubtedly see a jail term imposed (I think Jeffrey Archer got two years for a similar offence) and there is speculation that fellow MSP Rosemary Byrne, among others, may also face a perjury investigation.

The irony is, of course, if he had never gone to court in the first place, to try to disprove allegations that were none of the tabloid's business in the first place, not only would he not be facing a police investigation and not be plastered all over the tabloids he would also still be leader of the SSP and this whole crisis would have been averted rather than embraced.

If the whole episode proves anything it is that if we put people in a position where one single person can provoke a crisis in a left organisation then we don't just need to reassess that individual we also need to reconsider the whole concept of leadership, and what the relationship of "very important people" are to our organisations in the first place.

P.S. This is not the only court action being taken over the feud between former friends in Scotland. Shetland News (a must read if ever there was one) reports that Party fraud probe still ongoing former SSP members in Inverness have pilfered the funds and given it all to Sheridan's Solidarity. Under police investigation they have offered to return the money, which is nice of them. Please, please, please - can we keep the police and the courts out of the left in future?