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Tommy Sheridan hit with ‘gagging order’, lawyer claims

The solicitor representing Tommy Sheridan claims the firebrand former MSP has been banned from speaking to the media for six months after his release.

28 January 2012 14:04 GMT

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Tommy Sheridan's lawyer has accused prison authorities of trying to gag him on his release from jail.

Aamer Anwar said his client, the former Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) leader, had told him it was to be part of his conditions when he returns home from Castle Huntly open prison on Monday.

Mr Anwar said: "I was aware that this was being imposed. It's unprecedented, absolutely draconian and denies my client the right to earn a living."

Tommy Sheridan hit with ‘gagging order’, lawyer claims

The Scottish Prison Service said it could not confirm or deny the allegation and would not comment on individual cases.

Sheridan has served just over a year of his three-year sentence for lying under oath. The 47-year-old was jailed on January 26 last year for committing perjury during his successful defamation action against the News of the World in 2006.

Any prisoner serving a sentence of less than four years is currently eligible for automatic early release at the half-way point in their jail term. Sheridan would therefore be entitled to be freed from prison after 18 months. However, under current provisions, it is possible for individuals to spend up to the last six months of their sentence on home detention curfew. This means that they can be freed from prison to live at home but must wear an electronically monitored tag for the remainder of their sentence.

Mr Anwar said any attempt to gag his client would be challenged. He commented: "When Tommy Sheridan is released he will be hounded by certain sections of the media. If over a period of six months he was to slip or respond and that was to appear in the papers then he could be recalled to prison. When you are released on home detention curfew, what they are saying is you're of no threat and have met the standards required for release into society."

Mr Anwar asked how his client could get back to normal life and engage in political activities if the speaking ban is imposed. It has been reported Sheridan wants to play a part in the independence referendum debate.

Mr Anwar added that he will seek a judicial review of the gagging order if it appears in the conditions of Sheridan’s release on Monday. He said: "Once we have had a chance to check the papers, he fully intends to challenge it in the courts."

Paul McBride QC voiced criticism of the order, saying it could violate Sheridan’s rights. He told STV News: “Tommy Sheridan, whatever you think of him, is the leader of a political movement in this country. Now, if he’s released from prison and he can’t speak to the media or the press in any way at all then it deprives him of the right to carry out his employment, to do the things he would normally do. If this was to happen in any other country in the world, the free press would be kicking up rather a fuss about it.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said any speaking ban would be undemocratic. He said: "Although Mr Sheridan holds views that I do not agree with I do not believe his right to express these views should be curtailed. In the run up to May's local elections and in the early stages of the referendum debate he should be free to take an active role in promoting the things he believes in. To bar him participation is counter to our democratic values."

During the three-month High Court trial, Sheridan claimed that he was the victim of a "vendetta" by the police and a "conspiracy" involving the now-defunct News of the World and former colleagues within the SSP. In August 2011, he was denied the chance to appeal against his conviction, following a ruling by senior judges.

Sheridan's trial was one of the longest of its kind in Scottish legal history. He was convicted of five of six allegations in a single charge of perjury, relating to his evidence during the civil action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.