FORMER Scottish Socialist Party leader Tommy Sheridan was today convicted of lying during his defamation case against the News of the World.

The jury of 12 women and two men deliberated for six and a half hours before finding Sheridan guilty of perjury after a 12-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

Sheridan had been awarded �200,000 following his successful 2006 defamation action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh after the newspaper claimed he was an adulterer who visited swingers’ clubs.

He was originally charged alongside his wife Gail but the charge against her was dropped last Friday.

Following the civil court action against the tabloid, Sheridan and his wife Gail, both 46, were charged with perjury.

Lothian and Borders Police launched an investigation after witnesses gave opposing accounts of what happened.

At the start of the trial in October Sheridan faced 18 allegations, which were reduced by the prosecution to six.

The court heard from a succession of high-ranking members of the SSP who said Sheridan had confessed to attending a swingers’ club in Manchester on two occasions.

Sheridan always maintained his innocence and claimed there was a vendetta against him.