TOMMY Sheridan's dream of a political comeback has suffered a fresh blow after he was kicked off the board of a charity because of his conviction for lying under oath.
The disgraced former Scottish Socialist MSP and Solidarity leader had been a director of the Govanhill Baths Community Trust on the southside of Glasgow for two months, despite being disqualified from helping to run a charity. It is a criminal offence to act as a trustee while disqualified, punishable by two years in jail.
After the Sunday Herald asked the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator on Friday if Sheridan was allowed on the board, it contacted the trust, which removed him.
The law governing Scottish charities bans anyone convicted of an offence involving dishonesty from acting as a trustee unless they have special permission from the charity watchdog.
Sheridan, 48, was convicted of committing perjury during his 2006 defamation case against the News Of The World after it accused him of being an adulterer who visited a swingers' club. He was sentenced to three years in jail in January 2011 and released a year later.
Pollokshields Conservative councillor David Meikle commented: "I wouldn't trust Tommy Sheridan to run a bath either."
The humiliation comes as Sheridan tries to rebuild his reputation in an attempt to play a bigger role in the campaign for Scottish independence.
The Govanhill trust would have been an attractive vehicle as it is already home to two former colleagues: ex-Solidarity spokesman Jim Monaghan is the administrator, while Fatima Uygun, a former Solidarity candidate who vowed to hunt Sheridan's critics "like wild animals", is the treasurer.
Andrew Johnson, the trust chairman, said he could not remember who nominated Sheridan, but added: "We probably should have taken advice."
He said a delay in holding board meetings meant Sheridan had not yet taken part in one, so decisions had not been compromised.
The trust was set up in 2005 to find a use for the former council-run baths, which were closed in 2001, leading to a five-month sit-in. When sheriff officers tried to remove protesters, it triggered skirmishes, culminating in what officers called Glasgow's worst riot in 20 years.
The Trust now plans to restore the baths as a £13 million community "Wellbeing Centre".
Disgraced former politician kicked off board after Sunday Herald query
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