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| Lord Bracdale |
Lord Bracadale stated that Mr Sheridan was a "highly effective and hard working politician" and that he had "supported individuals in the community both in parliament and in the street," However the judge added that by pursuing a defamation action against the News of the World Mr Sheridan had "brought the walls of the temple crashing down not only on your own head but also on the heads of your family and your political friends alike."
You can read Lord Bracadale's full statement Here
You can read Lord Bracadale's full statement Here
More to follow.
16 comments:
From the horse's mouth:
http://www.scotland-judiciary.org.uk/8/709/HMA-v-THOMAS-SHERIDAN
Hope you have seen this James, and all readers of this blog.
coverage.http://www.scottishreview.net/
Much praise for you and this blog in that Scottish review article James - and rightly so. The article is right - it's a shame that the national press don't report cases with as much care and attention to detail as you have.
As to the sentence - to my mind three years seems about right given all the circumstances. No doubt TS supporters will feel he has been hard done to and continue to push their conspiracy theories.
Bracadale had it right though - TS brought all this down on his own head.
It seems we haven't heard the last of all this and that an appeal is likely - I trust you will continue your reporting as this unfolds.
I see lord b said Mr s brought the temple down on his own head. Just add to the conspiracy was it a masonic temple.
Just when i thought i could be nauseated no further out comes Judge B. comes out with"you were repeatedly told by THE(my emphasis) comrades it would come to this"."Your comrades i could understand. Maybe Bracadale will soon be revealed as the SSPs latest recruit!Yes,McCombes et al. have really reached there zenith and political rehabilitation to attract such thinly disguised admiration from himself.Hope they are pleased with themselves ,but myself and tens of thousands of others are filled with utter revulsion.
iain.
Do you really think 'tens of thousands' think that people should have lied on oath for someone who put his own selfish desires before his family, friends and political convictions???
are you the same Iain Brown who has claimed all along that you don't have a clear opinion or a political stake in this ;-)
3 years seems about fair, if the judge had wanted to be hardhser he could have been, and would have found support in the media for doing so.
of course Tommy is appealing, and still claims his innocence, so the circus isn't over.
the big question is what's next for this blog?
Bunc,
"Follow The Money":
This is a bit lengthy but is my last for the day before I go and toast Tommy's dignified resilience.
The verdict and sentence has been passed. Sheridan is Guilty in law and has been duly sentenced.
Now that matter is out of the way the proper course of events is for attention to turn to the Crown prosecution; the Crown witnesses and their connection with News Iternational.
The issue of payments (and the payments denied on oath) made and offered to Crown witnesses is one such issue that will receive close attention.
As in the (now vacated) Lockerbie /Megrahi appeal many interested observers will say "follow the money".
Secret substantial payments AND promises of future payment in return for favourable evidence against Megrahi were made to Crown witnesses by the US Department of Justice.
That was only revealed after a search by the defence after the Megrahi verdict - was that a conspiracy theory?
We already know Crown witnesses in this trial were previously paid substantial amounts by News International.
We know from this trial that some of those agreements were secret and were denied on oath until exposed in this trial.
We know that there was likely perjury during in the libel trial in the specific denial of those agreements.
Just from testimony in this trial we know some NOTW witnesses were relocated and got new homes; we know their financial circumstances and employment improved; we know one went on round the world trips; some got shopping trips/holidays to Dubai; some were offered future lucrative employment.
Remember the full extent of these payments made in the libel trial did not come out until 4 years afterwards in this perjury trial.
So it is therefore reasonable, with that as a background, to consider that more may come out in the future.
Of particular interest now will be those Crown witnesses who denied on oath receiving payments or offers of future payments.
One witness specifically denied an offer of payment - although News International itself admitted they were offered money.
Those individuals future lifestyles and any previous financial arrangements will now possibly be subjected to the closest scrutiny.
We know journalists and the CPS are currently looking into the News International murky empire in relation to allegations of other serious criminal acts that overlap directly with this trial.
According to reports Email archives are currently being searched by the CPS. TheICO is investigating the loss of the other emails.
There is no reason why the CPS ICO enquiry will not extend further into this Sheridan prosecution.
If not Wikileaks remains a valuable resource.
If (and I say if) there has been secret deals (as in Megrahi and the Sheridan libel trial) then payment and collection may be very difficult in light of that close scrutiny.
Speaking generally the failure to pay out on deals often leads to a fallout between the party expecting payment and the party who holds the funds.
That dispute could go on for years before coming to light.
The Archer case has been mentioned today and it is relevant in this regard as well.
It may be as you say, however, and that the idea of secret deals is all a "conspiracy theory".
The Archer case is helpful in deciding whether or not the 3-year sentence for Sheridan was "vindictive". Archer was convicted both of perjury and obstruction of justice and received a 4-year sentence. Sheridan was convicted of perjury alone, a further charge of obstruction of justice being withdrawn.
Yes ,former(?).SSP, i am that same Iain Brown.Unlike yourself and countless others i have always posted under my own real name and identified myself.Guilty,i have my own opinions and political loyalties.Challenge yourself (and anyone else) to cite any of my posts to proclaim TS was either guilty or innocent.Have always been and resolutely remain "a dont know".Of course you have always "known" TS was guilty and are no doubt now celebrating from the rooftops. Sorry,i am a little less gung ho and puritanical and reiterate my viewpoints.Come May 5 we will be able to decide whom the Scottish public would rather place their fate and trust with. The SSP or Solidarity.
peter...
the appeal wont get by the sift. even if it does he'll be out by the time its heard and why risk getting a longer stretch when by all accounts he's won a watch. even if he took the deal (18mths) it would have still took them to around the 7-8mth mark to let him out on a tag yet they say he could be out on a tag at 9mth.
the judge was right it was all mr s's doing no one but himself can be blamed for the events of the last 6-10 years.
Peter
So the conviction is all down to the NOTW's money.
I should be grateful for any scenario to explain how this money could have corrupted ALL the prosecution witnesses.
How about this for a scenario:-
TS goes to the SSP executive and denies the NOTW story. Very quickly afterwards the NOTW knocks at lots of doors offering loads of money, and a dozen or more members decide to make up the story that he confessed to going to Cupids.
Plausible? Strange that none of those who testified for TS testified that they were approached by the NOTW bearing cash and nobly refused the temptation. So how did the NOTW know who could be bought?
A moment's thought shows that the idea that they approached those who could be bought and avoided all others is laughable.
I gave tommy a wave as a heading up the saltmarket in the van with the blacked-out windows. Someone was banging on the black-out windows, wonder if it was Tommy.
"Come May 5 we will be able to decide whom the Scottish public would rather place their fate and trust with. The SSP or Solidarity."
I'm putting my money on a resounding "Neither of them"
aye,you are right(6 19pm).the Anonymous Party are gonnae win it hands down!
well done to the destroyers of the socialist dream
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