Andy Coulson, David Cameron's former director of communications, was tonight arrested by detectives from Strathclyde Police and charged with perjury during the Tommy Sheridan trial.

Mr Coulson, 44, was detained at his home in the Dulwich area of London early this morning by seven officers.

He was questioned at Govan police station in Glasgow and detectives tonight took the decision to arrest him and bring the perjury charge.

Strathclyde Police  said a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal who will decide whether Mr Coulson is to face court proceedings.

Earlier, a police spokeswoman said: "Officers from Strathclyde Police's Operation Rubicon team detained a 44-year-old man in London this morning under section 14 of the Criminal Procedure Scotland act 1995 on suspicion of committing perjury before the High Court in Glasgow."

Operation Rubicon detectives have been looking at whether anyone lied to the court during Sheridan's 2o10 trial as part of a "full" investigation into phone hacking in Scotland.

Mr Coulson was questioned over two days at the High Court in Glasgow by Sheridan, who conducted his own defence. Mr Coulson, then employed by Downing Street as director of communications, is a former editor of the News of the World.

In May 2010, Mr Coulson was unveiled as director of communications and planning with the Conservative Party. He became Mr Cameron's trusted media adviser but stepped down last year.

Sheridan was jailed for three years in January 2011 after being found guilty of perjury during his 2006 defamation action against the News of the World.

He had been awarded £200,000 in damages after winning the civil case but a jury at the High Court in Glasgow found him guilty of lying about the now-defunct tabloid's claims that he was an adulterer who visited a swingers' club.

The former MSP was released from jail in January after serving one year of his sentence.

The 48-year-old former Scottish Socialist Party leader vowed to clear his name after he was released from Castle Huntly prison near Dundee on January 30, after serving one-third of the sentence. He is considering an appeal.

Commenting yesterday on the news that Mr Coulson had been detained,  Sheridan said he believed it was the first step "in the journey towards the quashing of my conviction, which was unsafe and unsound".

But current SSP leader Colin Fox last night attacked his former comrade. He said: "It is time Tommy Sheridan stopped shamelessly  milking the public anger about the deplorable actions of the Murdoch press and started telling the truth that he lied in his libel case, was found guilty of perjury. Regardless of the outcome of the Coulson inquiries that remains the case."

Sheridan said the work of Strathclyde Police's Operation Rubicon, which is examining whether witnesses lied to the court during his trial as part of its investigation into phone hacking, helped his hopes of overturning his conviction.

Speaking alongside him outside his home, the former MSP’s lawyer, Gordon Dangerfield, said: "We have very strong grounds of appeal and will be lodging a full appeal in due course.

"Today's developments concern only one of various areas which are relevant to the appeal, and which are being actively pursued by us. We are very limited in what we can say because much of the information which we have is still confidential at this stage and we do not want to prejudice the ongoing investigation.

"We are very much looking forward to being able to present all of the new evidence at a full appeal in due course. We believe when the whole truth comes out, the public will be given an entirely new perspective on what the Tommy Sheridan trial was really about. It is safe to say that many people will have their eyes opened for the first time."

Lawyer Aamer Anwar, who represented the former MSP during the trial, said: "Everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence and it would be inappropriate to comment on Mr Coulson’s detention today."

First Minister Alex Salmond has ruled out an inquiry into phone hacking.