Sheridan dismissed his legal team -- led by Maggie Scott, QC, and also including junior counsel Jillian Martin-Brown and Shelagh McCall -- and has been given until Thursday to prepare his case against allegations that he lied under oath during his successful action against the News Of The World in 2006.
Trial judge Lord Bracadale called the jury to a packed court room shortly after noon yesterday to notify them of what he described as a “sudden development”.
He said: “I am sorry about the delay this morning and I thank you for your patience. There have been some developments in the case. You will see that Ms Scott and her junior counsel are no longer here.
“Mr Sheridan has instructed his solicitor to withdraw counsel and Mr Sheridan will now conduct his own defence.
“An accused person is perfectly entitled to do that. Mr Sheridan has asked for some time to prepare himself before he conducts his own defence and I consider that to be a reasonable request.”
Sheridan and wife Gail, his co-accused, left the High Court in Glasgow yesterday hand-in-hand. Solicitor Aamer Anwar -- who continues to represent the former MSP -- made a short statement on his client’s behalf, confirming Sheridan had withdrawn instruction from his counsel and would be representing himself, and adding that there would be no further comment from the accused given the live legal proceedings.
No comment was available from Ms Scott.
The jury heard that the case would be adjourned until Thursday. Lord Bracadale said the delay in proceedings yesterday had been caused by “dealing with the ramifications of that decision”.
This is not the first time that Sheridan, a former MSP, has parted company with his legal team. Donald Findlay, QC, was dropped from the current perjury case as proceedings got under way last year.
In 2006, Sheridan sacked his legal team and went on to represent himself during the defamation action.
Following the departure of Ms Scott -- who defended Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, during his appeal against his conviction -- Sheridan will continue to be represented by Mr Anwar, with Paul McBride remaining as counsel for Gail Sheridan, who is also accused of perjury.
The couple, both 46, are alleged to have lied under oath during Sheridan’s civil case against the publishers of the tabloid, which claimed in a series of newspaper articles that he had visited a swingers’ club and taken part in group sex.
Sheridan was awarded a maximum of £200,000 in damages by the jury. However, he has not yet received the money as the newspaper publisher launched an appeal.
The Sheridans deny the perjury charges against them.
The court has heard from eight witnesses. Evidence has included claims that Sheridan, at an emergency meeting of the Scottish Socialist Party on November 9, 2004, admitted to visiting a sex club on two occasions. It was claimed in court that party colleagues tried to persuade him not to sue the newspaper.
Sheridan is also accused of asking Colin Fox, a former SSP MSP, to commit perjury by claiming the written record of the party meeting was false.
The jury also saw part of a video where a man identified by witnesses as Sheridan admitted visiting the club, called Cupid’s.
Mrs Sheridan is also accused of making false statements during the civil proceedings.
QC’s victories have helped shape law
Maggie Scott, QC, has been described as “Queen of the appeal court” due to her expertise at navigating complex and high-profile cases.
She was recently involved in the appeal of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing.
The appeal was later dropped as he took steps to return to Libya, but Ms Scott’s profile was undoubtedly bolstered.
A graduate of the universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde, Ms Scott was born and raised in the capital. She trained as a solicitor at Quinn Martin & Langan in Glasgow from 1987 to 1989, was admitted to the Faulty of Advocates in 1999 and took silk in 2002.
In 2002, she led a successful appeal against the conviction of Kim Galbraith, found guilty of murdering her policeman husband, in a case that helped redefine a section of law. Galbraith saw her sentence reduced to 10 years for culpable homicide after the rules surrounding diminished responsibility were examined.
Ms Scott also led the successful acquittal of Thomas “TC” Campbell, who was freed in 2004 after serving 20 years for the murder of six members of one family in Glasgow’s so-called Ice Cream Wars.
Ms Scott has spoken out against the “erroneous perception” that the Scottish Bar is a male-only enclave and has welcomed the growing number of women who are joining the Faculty of Advocates.
