Man named in Tommy Sheridan trial arrest

THE man at the centre of reports last night that a witness – during a trial two years ago of the former MSP, Tommy Sheridan – had been arrested and charged with perjury has been since named.

Last night, an initial report simply had the man identified as a 39 year-old. But it has since emerged he is Douglas Wight, a former news editor at the now closed Scottish News of the World newspaper.

It is also being reported he has also been charged with conspiracy to hack telephones and multiple charges of conspiracy to obtain the personal data of members of the public.

Sheridan spent a year in prison, as part of a three-year sentence, after being found guilty of perjuring himself during a successful defamation case against the News of the World, which was closed last year amid phone hacking allegations.

Meanwhile, six former News of the World staff, plus a private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, were in court yesterday, accused of phone hacking. Among them was Andy Coulson, former editor and former spin doctor for Prime Minister, David Cameron.

Says The Scotsman and others, they have been remanded to appear at Southwark Crown Court on the 26th of next month.