A former editor of the now closed News of the World newspaper has been detained by Strathclyde Police – it is being widely reported.
Says the STV website, among others, Andy Coulson has been detained on suspicion of having committed perjury at the High Court in Glasgow, during the trial of former MSP, Tommy Sheridan.
Sheridan was found guilty, following the trial 18 months ago, of having lied during a successful defamation case against the News of the World six years ago. He was to serve one year of a three-year prison sentence.
The News of the World had made claims about Sheridan's sex life. The News of the World was closed in July, amid allegations of phone-hacking.
Both the STV and the BBC quote a Strathclyde Police spokesperson as saying: “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 is a Strathclyde Police enquiry into allegations of phone hacking, breach of data protection and perjury.
Since he left the News of the World five years ago, Coulson has been more recently a Downing Street director of communications.
Update 1.10pm: The BBC's Lorna Gordon has just reported on the BBC One o'Clock News that Coulson is being driven to Glasgow from his home in London and is expected to arrive at a police station in Govan sometime this afternoon.
