Beginning on October 31, 2004,
News of the World published a series of articles alleging that a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), Tommy Sheridan, 42, committed adultery, solicited group sex, and used drugs. The paper also reported that at a November 9, 2004, meeting of Scottish Socialist Party officials in Glasgow,
... Sheridan revealed that he twice patronized the Manchester swingers’ club Cupid. The tabloid also claimed that the married SSP bigwig was having extra-marital affairs with News of the World columnist Anvar Khan and SSP activist Katrine Trolle. Sheridan stood down from his party leader post in mid-November and later sued the Sunday tabloid for libel, denying the claims. On August 4, 2006, the MSP won his case by a 7-4 jury verdict, and the paper had to shell out £200,000 in damages. But Sheridan wasn’t off the hook. In December 2010, he was convicted of perjury for lying about his visits to Cupid and affair with Trolle during the 2006 case and was sentenced to three years in prison.—Olivia B. Waxman MORE
