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104-762: Throughout an often difficult and challenging time for left politics in Scotland (over Tommy Sheridan , the rise of the SNP , the independence referendum and so on), the magazine has continued to hold true to its historical mission of acting as a respectful and rigorous forum for debate and discussion across the left with a view to propounding progressive politics and mapping out strategies to achieve them. Its current editorial committee consists of Cat Boyd , academic and author Gregor Gall , Bob Thomson, Gordon Morgan, Sarah Collins, Dave Sherry, Stephen Smellie, Lilian Macer, Tommy Sheppard , Moira Craig and Bill Bonnar . The magazine

208-625: A trial for perjury . On 23 December 2010, Sheridan was convicted of perjury, and on 26 January he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. The charges against his wife were withdrawn. In the light of the News of the World phone hacking affair , the Crown Office was ordered to reassess the case in 2011. Sheridan left prison in January 2012 under automatic early release rules. Sheridan's mother

312-706: A February 2001 protest, led to an appeal by the Crown Office , but this was rejected by the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh in October 2002. Sheridan was one of the first to be arrested for a breach of the peace at a demonstration at Faslane on 11 February 2002. He was found guilty in February 2003 and fined £200, but he refused to pay and was sent to prison for non-payment on 25 August 2003. This time, he

416-693: A Glasgow hotel, had been approached by Lynn who asked her not to give evidence. Lynn was once jailed for 17 years for shooting an Ulster barman. On 1 October 2006, the News of the World reignited controversy by publishing new evidence in support of its claim that Sheridan lied to the Court of Session. It was a video recording of Sheridan admitting he had visited a swingers club in Manchester on two occasions and further, that he had, as other senior SSP members claimed in court, admitted this at an Executive meeting of

520-429: A Sunday edition of The Sun to replace the News of the World , and it did, on 26 February 2012. The domain names sunonsunday.co.uk , thesunonsunday.co.uk and thesunonsunday.com were registered on 5 July 2011 by News International Newspapers Limited. In early 1967, the newspaper ran a three-part feature entitled "Pop Stars and Drugs: Facts That Will Shock You". The series described alleged LSD parties hosted by

624-573: A chance of winning back that role as SSP convenor. Sheridan was first arrested at the Faslane nuclear base, the location of Britain's Trident submarine fleet, for a breach of the peace offence committed during a demonstration in February 2000. He was convicted on this count, and for resisting arrest, when the case came to trial in November, and was fined £250. Believing nuclear weapons to be illegal under international law, Sheridan made it clear at

728-443: A child. The paper's decision led to some instances of action being taken against those suspected of being child sex offenders, which included several cases of mistaken identity, including one instance where a paediatrician had her house vandalised, and another where a man was confronted because he had a neck brace similar to one a paedophile was wearing when pictured. The campaign was labelled "grossly irresponsible" journalism by

832-472: A collage of past front pages. The back cover featured a quote from George Orwell 's Nineteen Eighty-Four that mentions the paper, and a recent quote from a NotW reader. The final edition also included a 48-page pullout documenting the history of the paper. On 9 July 2011, after production of the final edition wrapped, editor Colin Myler led the staff out of the building, where he held a press conference thanking

936-597: A death threat through the post. In a statement to the BBC, Sheridan said: "I utterly condemn any threats to Fiona McGuire or any other individual". On 26 August 2007, the Sunday Herald reported that John Lynn had been questioned by detectives about allegations of witness tampering. Lynn is reportedly an associate of Paul Ferris , a reformed criminal who has become friendly with Sheridan. The report said Helen Allison, who claimed in court that she saw Sheridan having sex in

1040-532: A hostile response to his bid from the Carrs and from the editor of the News of the World , Stafford Somerfield , who declared in an October 1968 front page leading article attacking Maxwell that the paper was "as British as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding ". News Ltd. arranged to swap shares in some of its minor ventures with the Carrs and by December it controlled 40% of the NOTW stock. Maxwell had been supported by

1144-696: A jury found Sheridan guilty of perjury and on 26 January 2011 he was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Initially he was held in Barlinnie prison in Glasgow, but after several weeks he was moved to a semi-open wing in Barlinnie, and on 21 June he was moved to Castle Huntly open prison . Sheridan was released to a Home Detention Curfew on 30 January 2012, having served just over one year of his sentence. Sheridan and Aamer Anwar subsequently parted company, with Gordon Dangerfield acting as his lawyer. In 2015

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1248-569: A majority verdict of 7–4 and the jury awarded him maximum damages of £200,000. The News of the World has appealed the verdict. In the Scottish Socialist Voice of 8 August, a letter signed by a further six leading members of the SSP claimed that Sheridan had told them that he had admitted at an SSP Executive meeting to attending the Manchester swingers club. The News of the World intended to appeal against what they described as

1352-686: A member of the Rolling Stones allegedly took several Benzedrine tablets, displayed a piece of hashish and invited his companions back to his flat for a "smoke". The article claimed that the member was singer Mick Jagger , although the reporter had in fact been eavesdropping on guitarist Brian Jones . On 10 May 1967, Jagger, Keith Richards , and their friend art dealer Robert Fraser were arrested at Richards' Redlands estate in West Wittering and charged with possession of cannabis and amphetamines , while bandmate Jones' London house

1456-466: A number of arrests. Criticism of the sentences also came from the News of the World' s future sister publication The Times , which ran an editorial entitled " Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel? " in which conservative editor William Rees-Mogg surprised his readers by his unusually critical discourse on the sentencing, pointing out that Jagger had been treated far more harshly for a minor first offense than "any purely anonymous young man". On 31 July,

1560-549: A person and this kind of evidence should never solely be used to bring a criminal trial". Sheridan then suggested that MI5 , someone within the SSP, Rupert Murdoch and Bill Gates had conspired to concoct the videotape to undermine his campaign for an independent socialist Scotland. The conflicting evidence given during the trial resulted in the judge warning several witnesses about the implications of perjuring themselves. On Monday 7 August 2006, Lothian and Borders Police said they had received two complaints of perjury, one from

1664-514: A pre-trial hearing at Edinburgh High Court on 26 February. however this was postponed until 11 May. The trial started at Glasgow High Court on 4 October 2010. Sheridan's initial defence team included Donald Findlay , who was replaced by Maggie Scott . However, a few weeks into the case, Sheridan instructed his Solicitor Aamer Anwar , who had defended him since 2007, to withdraw Scott's instructions. He then conducted his own defence, with Anwar assisting him as amicus curiae . On 23 December 2010

1768-457: A private investigator paid by the paper, testified that he had been asked by the newspaper's leadership to hack voicemail accounts on its behalf. In April 2011, attorneys for the victims alleged that as many as 7,000 people had their phones hacked by the News of the World ; it was further revealed that the paper's owner, Rupert Murdoch , had attempted to pressure Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Labour Party MPs to "back away" from investigating

1872-683: A separate edition produced in Belfast. It was also printed at a number of sites abroad including Madrid, Brussels, Cyprus and Orlando in Florida, US. In 1985, the News of the World moved out of Thomson House when the building was bought by the tycoon Robert Maxwell (and renamed Maxwell House) and, after a short spell on the Daily Express presses in Great Ancoats Street, moved to a new plant at Knowsley on Merseyside. In 2011

1976-451: A suspicious device was found in his car. The device was described as "not of the kind used by British security services". A complaint submitted to Strathclyde Police in July 2011 lead to Operation Rubicon , a major investigation involving 50 officers investigating allegations of phone hacking, breach of data protection and perjury by News of the World . In May 2012, Andy Coulson , editor of

2080-607: A swingers club with women, but another four members of the SSP who were present at that Executive meeting backed Sheridan's claim that he made no such admission at that meeting. On 14 July 2006, Sheridan sacked his legal team and began representing himself. His cross-examination of witnesses was described by one left commentator as "sickening", singling out the cross-examination of Katrine Trolle: "Sheridan questioned her about their sexual history, which included visits to Cupids with Sheridan and group sex encounters with him and his brother-in-law, Andrew McFarlane. When she stated that she

2184-498: A television interview with David Frost after the newspaper published extracts, in late summer 1969, from the memoirs of Christine Keeler . Keeler had been a central figure in the Profumo scandal which had emerged to public scrutiny in 1963. Murdoch regretted agreeing to the interview with Frost. In February 1970, Stafford Somerfield was sacked as editor after coming into conflict with Murdoch, whose takeover he had opposed. During

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2288-524: A then-unnamed MSP were about him, and indicated he would take legal action against the paper. Following Sheridan's resignation, the News of the World named him as the MSP they said had had an extramarital affair and visited a swingers' club in Manchester . The party declined to support him in legal action against the paper. He later branded those who refused to support him as "scabs". The minutes of

2392-579: A typing student as part of an (unsuccessful) effort on the part of Militant to recruit Scottish Labour Students in further education colleges. The Labour Party, led by Neil Kinnock at the time, found that Militant contravened the Labour Party constitution, and Sheridan himself was expelled from the Labour Party in 1989 for "bringing the party into disrepute". From within Militant, he was

2496-431: Is it?" "It's called the News of the World —I'll send you a copy", replied Riddell, and in due course did so. Next time they met Riddell said, "Well Greenwood, what do you think of my paper?" "I looked at it", replied Greenwood, "and then I put it in the waste-paper basket. And then I thought, 'If I leave it there the cook may read it'—so I burned it!" By 1912, the circulation was two million and around three million by

2600-583: The 2007 Holyrood election as top of his party's list nominees for Glasgow. The party also stood a candidate in by-elections in 2008 in Glasgow East and the Glenrothes , and Sheridan himself stood in the 2009 Glasgow North East by-election . Sheridan stood as a candidate in the 2009 European Parliament elections for No to EU – Yes to Democracy , a left-wing alter-globalisation coalition led by RMT union leader Bob Crow . Sheridan resigned as

2704-569: The Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Act 2001 , which he introduced as bills in Holyrood on 6 December 2001. On 11 November 2004, Sheridan stepped down as convenor of the SSP, citing his wife Gail's pregnancy as a prime reason. The resignation was steeped in controversy. It later emerged that the party's executive committee voted unanimously to force Sheridan to resign after a 9 November meeting in which he confirmed stories printed about

2808-640: The Conservative Party throughout its history (endorsing Edward Heath in the 1970 and both 1974 elections), maintained its political posture during the early years of the Murdoch era, whereas its weekday sister The Sun did not have a definitive allegiance, (supporting Harold Wilson 's Labour Party in 1970 , Heath in February 1974 and Jeremy Thorpe 's Liberal Party in October 1974 ) until

2912-420: The Crown Office had asked Lothian and Borders Police to undertake a full inquiry after receiving a preliminary report. In May 2007, it was reported that staff at Cupid's Swingers Club in Manchester had told police they had been offered bribes not to co-operate with the inquiry. On 16 December 2007, Sheridan was charged with perjury in relation to the News of the World case. In a public statement outside

3016-516: The NOTW will soon be replaced by something equally loathsome like The Sunday Sun . The paper became notorious for chequebook journalism , as it was often discovered attempting to buy stories, typically concerning private affairs and relationships, of people closely involved with figures of public interest such as politicians, celebrities and high-profile criminals. With this intention, the paper on occasion paid key witnesses in criminal trials such as

3120-808: The News Chronicle closed. The move to Thomson House led to the immediate closure of the Empire News , a paper printed there and mainly circulating in the North of England and Wales with a circulation of about 2.5 million. Officially the Empire News and News of the World merged but Thomson House was already printing the Sunday Pictorial (to become the Sunday Mirror ) and Sunday Times and did not have any further capacity with

3224-564: The News of the World arriving. The paper's motto was "All human life is there". The paper's name was linked with sports events as early as 1903 when the golfing tournament The News of the World Match Play Championship began (now under British PGA auspices). The News of the World Darts Championship existed from 1927 on a regional basis and became a national tournament from 1947 to 1990. There

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3328-413: The News of the World established itself as the most widely read Sunday paper, with initial sales of around 12,000 copies a week. Sales then suffered because the price was not cut following the abolition of newspaper taxes and the paper was soon no longer among the leading Sunday titles, selling around 30,000 by 1880, a greater number but a smaller proportion, as newspaper sales had grown hugely. The title

3432-499: The News of the World from 2003 – 2007 and who gave evidence at Sheridan's trial, was detained "on suspicion of committing perjury before the High Court in Glasgow". On 7 July 2014, following Coulson's conviction on phone hacking charges, Coulson himself faced perjury charges over Sheridan's trial, and on 23 February 2015, a pre-evidential hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh set a trial date of 21 April. On 3 June 2015, Coulson

3536-512: The News of the World had become the biggest-selling newspaper in the world with a weekly sale of 8,441,000 and individual editions sold over 9 million copies. As with other Sunday newspapers , the News of the World was published on Saturday whenever Christmas Day fell on Sunday. The newspaper passed into the hands of Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd. in 1969, following a year-long struggle with Robert Maxwell 's Pergamon Press . Maxwell's Czech origin, combined with his political opinions, provoked

3640-586: The Pollok constituency at the 1992 general election , gaining nearly 20%, a result ahead of three candidates, but behind the elected Labour Party MP. A few weeks later he won the Pollok ward on Glasgow District Council . He contested the European Parliament election in 1994 as the SML candidate in Glasgow, and came third with 8% of votes cast. Sheridan was a leading figure in negotiations to establish

3744-613: The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission declined to refer the case to the High Court. A "Defend Tommy Sheridan" campaign was launched by sympathetic trade unionists and politicians to demand why Sheridan was being investigated. In December 2007, Sunday Herald columnist Iain MacWhirter said it was "hard not to conclude that the police's diligence has been inspired by Rupert Murdoch's News International." The campaign drew support from

3848-739: The Scottish Socialist Alliance in 1996, which evolved into the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) in 1998. He became the convenor of the party and was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as a Glasgow representative and re-elected in 2003 . Together with Alan McCombes he published Imagine , an outline of the principles of socialism for a modern era. Sheridan was active in implementing long-needed changes in Scottish law, including

3952-615: The Scottish Socialist Alliance . In 1998, the new Scottish Socialist Party was formed from the SSA. Differences over political strategy and priorities within the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI) soon surfaced, especially on the issue of Scottish independence, leading to a split within the CWI and Sheridan along with the majority of Scottish supporters left the organisation. Sheridan fought two elections while in prison, coming second in

4056-492: The anti-poll tax movement of the late-1980s and early-1990s. McAlpine has since written about the Sheridan she became close to, with reference in particular to the defamation case . As the highest profile Militant member in Scotland, Sheridan was a leading figure in the group's split in the early-1990s. Emboldened by the success of the campaign against the poll tax, many Militant members – particularly in Scotland – argued for

4160-415: The "perverse" decision in the immediate aftermath of the trial, and a provisional date for the hearing was set for December 2007, however it was postponed until the outcome of the procurator fiscal 's perjury probe. On 10 October 2006, BBC News reported that Grampian Police were investigating a claim by Fiona McGuire, who had been a witness in the trial for the News of the World , that she had received

4264-479: The 1966 Moors murders case, and the 1999 trial of Gary Glitter on charges of assaulting an underage teenage fan. The paper began a controversial campaign to name and shame alleged paedophiles in July 2000, following the abduction and murder of Sarah Payne in West Sussex. During the trial of her killer Roy Whiting , it emerged that he had a previous conviction for abduction and sexual assault against

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4368-514: The Jackson family (25% shareholders), but Murdoch had gained the support of the Carr family (30%) and then-chairman William Carr. In January 1969, Maxwell's bid was rejected at a shareholders' meeting where half of those present were company staff, temporarily given voting shares. It was Murdoch's first Fleet Street acquisition. Maxwell accused Murdoch of employing "the laws of the jungle" to acquire

4472-604: The Moody Blues and attended by top stars including the Who 's Pete Townshend and Cream 's Ginger Baker , and alleged admissions of drug use by leading pop musicians. The first article targeted Donovan (who was raided and charged soon after); the second installment (published on 5 February) targeted the Rolling Stones . A reporter who contributed to the story spent an evening at the exclusive London club Blaise's, where

4576-504: The Popular Press (Gollancz, 1996), says that the News of the World of the 1890s was "a very fine paper indeed". The paper was not without its detractors, though. As one writer later related: Frederick Greenwood , editor of The Pall Mall Gazette , met in his club one day Lord Riddell, who died a few years ago, and in the course of conversation Riddell said to him, "You know, I own a paper." "Oh, do you?" said Greenwood, "what

4680-532: The SSP in August 2006, accusing the SSP of being part of "the mother of all stitch-ups" involving not only their leadership, but also MI5 and News International . He launched a new political party called Solidarity . Sheridan was originally set to re-contest the post Scottish Socialist Party convenor at the October 2006 conference, and Colin Fox claimed he had only established the new party because he did not stand

4784-460: The SSP. The tape had been made without Sheridan's knowledge using a hidden camera by SSP member George McNeilage in McNeilage's house after he invited Sheridan there. McNeilage had been one of three best men at Sheridan's wedding. Sheridan does not appear clearly on the video at any time. The newspaper has not been able to produce any images from the video showing Sheridan's face and Sheridan says

4888-561: The World was a weekly national " red top " tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling English-language newspaper, and at closure still had one of the highest English-language circulations. It was originally established as a broadsheet by John Browne Bell, who identified crime, sensation and vice as the themes that would sell most copies. The Bells sold to Henry Lascelles Carr in 1891; in 1969, it

4992-516: The abandonment of entryism and for the creation of Scottish Militant Labour and Militant Labour in England and Wales as separate political parties. The argument was resolved when Sheridan and his supporters won a vote at a special conference held in Bridlington in October 1991, defeating the faction around Militant founder Ted Grant who argued against abandoning the Labour Party. The result

5096-485: The appeals court overturned Richards' conviction, and Jagger's sentence was reduced to a conditional discharge . Brian Jones' trial took place in November 1967; in December, after appealing the original prison sentence, Jones was fined £1,000, put on three years' probation and ordered to seek professional help. Commenting on the closure in 2011 of the newspaper against which he had led protests 44 years earlier, Farren

5200-484: The article's talk page . This article about mass media in Scotland is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Tommy Sheridan Thomas Sheridan (born 7 March 1964) is a Scottish politician who served as convenor of Solidarity from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as convenor of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) from 1998 to 2004 and as co-convenor of Solidarity from 2006 to 2016. He

5304-550: The case was heard before a jury . The jury heard allegations that Sheridan had visited a swingers clubs in Manchester and engaged in adulterous affairs with two women. Sheridan, who claims to be a teetotaller , reportedly drank champagne and consumed cocaine during an extramarital liaison. Sheridan denies drinking the champagne and the claim of substance abuse. Eleven members of the SSP 's executive committee testified that he admitted in an executive committee meeting to attending

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5408-527: The cheapest newspaper of its time and was aimed directly at the newly literate working classes. It quickly established itself as a purveyor of titillation, shock, and criminal news. Much of the source material came from coverage of vice prosecutions, including lurid transcripts of police descriptions of alleged brothels, streetwalkers , and "immoral" women. In 1924 the newspaper sponsored the 1924 Women's Olympiad held at Stamford Bridge in London. Before long,

5512-601: The co-convenor of Solidarity in June 2016, but returned as convener in 2019. In 2020, Solidarity signed up for Action for Independence , a new pro-independence alliance. In March 2021 he and his wife Gail joined the Alba Party . Hearings in Sheridan's defamation case against the publishers of the News of the World began in the Court of Session in Edinburgh on 4 July 2006. Unusually in Scottish civil proceedings,

5616-460: The daughter of the actor Denholm Elliott . He stated, "The going rate for that kind of thing might have been two to five hundred pounds and that would have been authorised, and he [i.e., the police officer] would have been paid... and he would have been on the lookout for another story..." The articles described Elliott's destitute situation and stated that she had worked as a prostitute. Jennifer Elliott took her own life in 2003. In McMullan's opinion,

5720-722: The early 1920s. Sales reached four million by 1939. This success encouraged other similar newspapers, of which The Sunday People , the Daily Mail , the Daily Express and the Daily Mirror are still being published. In 1928, the paper began printing in Manchester on the presses of the News Chronicle in Derby Street, moving in 1960 into Thomson House, Withy Grove (formerly known as Kemsley House) when

5824-521: The following day. The minutes included a discussion by the party's executive committee about a recent article that alleged a married MSP had visited a swingers' club in Manchester. According to the minute, Sheridan admitted that he had in fact visited the club on two occasions, in 1996 and 2002, with close friends. Some of those present at the meeting gave evidence that they had heard Sheridan acknowledge he had been "reckless" in his behaviour which had, with hindsight, been "a mistake" and that "his strategy

5928-527: The former Conservative MSP Brian Monteith , the other alleged to be from the SSP's minutes secretary. On 22 August 2006, the Crown Office instructed the Edinburgh Procurators Fiscal office to ascertain if there were grounds for a criminal investigation. On 2 October 2006, it was concluded that there were and Lothian and Borders Police were instructed to start a criminal investigation. On 21 February 2007, The Herald reported that

6032-643: The four decades of Murdoch's ownership, the newspaper had to frequently defend itself against libel charges as well as complaints to the Press Council (later the Press Complaints Commission ) on accusations of certain news-gathering techniques, such as entrapment , and contentious campaigns. Some of the better-known of these were the "Bob and Sue" case with reporter Neville Thurlbeck , and various cases involving journalist Mazher Mahmood . The newspaper, which had generally supported

6136-505: The kidnap plot. This led to an investigation by Scotland Yard on News of the World called Operation Canopus. In August 2010, Mahmood posed as the "Fake Sheikh" to expose a cricket bookie named Mazhar Majeed who claimed Pakistani cricketers had committed spot-fixing during Pakistan's 2010 tour of England. In November 2011, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were found guilty by a London court on criminal charges relating to spot-fixing. Mohammad Amir and Majeed had entered guilty pleas on

6240-625: The late 1970s when it became a Tory bastion. Both newspapers would later endorse Tony Blair 's New Labour during the late 1990s and early 2000s before switching back to the Conservatives during David Cameron 's leadership. Starting in 1981, a magazine supplement ( Sunday ) was included with the paper and, in 1984, the newspaper changed from broadsheet to tabloid format. The paper was printed in Hertfordshire , Liverpool, Dinnington near Sheffield, Portsmouth, Glasgow and Dublin, with

6344-402: The latter jailed for phone hacking in 2007. The former executive editor Neil Wallis was arrested on 15 July 2011 and former editor Rebekah Brooks , the tenth person held in custody, on 17 July 2011. During a visit to London on 17 February 2012, Murdoch announced he was soon to launch a Sunday edition of The Sun , which acted as a replacement to the News of the World . On 19 February 2012, it

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6448-435: The meeting early, but before leaving, "he repeated that he did not believe there was any evidence which would prove him to be lying. He did not accept that he should admit the visits to the club and felt that no-one should comment on private lives". At the annual conference of the SSP in early 2005, Sheridan was elected to the SSP executive and at the March 2006 conference, he was elected as party co-chair. However Sheridan left

6552-455: The meeting which detailed the deliberations leading to Sheridan's resignation were kept confidential until subpoenaed by News International . After he refused to release the minutes to the Court of Session , Alan McCombes was jailed for twelve days by Judge Lady Smith . At an emergency meeting of the party's National Council, it was agreed the minutes should be handed over — with only 60 delegates opposed — in order to secure McCombes' release

6656-403: The newspaper announced that it was offering a record-breaking reward of £250,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murders of five prostitutes around Ipswich , Suffolk. The reward went unclaimed; Steve Wright was arrested on suspicion of murder six days later following the use of unrelated information to link him to the murders. He

6760-407: The newspaper. These culminated in the revelation on 4 July 2011 that, nearly a decade earlier, a private investigator hired by the newspaper had intercepted the voicemail of missing British teenager Milly Dowler , who was later found murdered. Amid a public backlash and the withdrawal of advertising, News International announced the closure of the newspaper on 7 July 2011. The scandal deepened when

6864-420: The next day pending appeal. The News of the World was rapidly identified by the hippy counterculture as the prime culprit for the imprisonments, which were seen as an attempt by the Establishment to send a collective message to a hedonistic young generation. International Times and activist and musician Mick Farren organised protests outside the Fleet Street offices of the newspaper. Protesters informed

6968-423: The nickname Screws of the World . In its last decade it had a reputation for exposing celebrities' drug use, sexual peccadilloes, or criminal acts , by using insiders and journalists in disguise to provide video or photographic evidence, and covert phone hacking in ongoing police investigations. Sales averaged 2,812,005 copies per week in October 2010. From 2006, allegations of phone hacking began to engulf

7072-400: The paper and said he had "made a fair and bona fide offer... which has been frustrated and defeated after three months of [cynical] manoeuvring." Murdoch denied this, arguing the shareholders of the News of the World Group had "judged [his] record in Australia." Illness removed Sir William Carr from the chairmanship in June 1969, and Murdoch succeeded him. Murdoch came under severe criticism in

7176-420: The paper was alleged to have hacked into the phones of families of British service personnel killed in action. Senior figures on the newspaper have been held for questioning by police investigating the phone hacking and corruption allegations, alongside former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan . Arrested on 8 July 2011 were former editor Andy Coulson and former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman ,

7280-455: The paper's staff that their objective was "freeing the fucking Stones and closing down the fucking News of the World ". Farren later credited his colleague Sue Miles with identifying the paper as a target for protest because, as she put it, "they were the bastards who started this" (with their feature on drugs in music). Farren reported that a second night of protests was broken up by officers from City of London Police , who beat him up and made

7384-455: The police in the large-scale riot against the poll tax in London – which took place on 31 March 1990, the day before the tax was introduced in England and Wales – and publicly threatened to "name names". The police widely advertised for people to tell them the names of alleged rioters, and partly as a result of police acting on such information, over 100 individuals were jailed. With Joan McAlpine , he published A Time to Rage which chronicled

7488-501: The police station he attributed his arrest to the "powerful reach" of the Murdoch press. During February 2008, his wife Gail, former SSP MSP Rosemary Byrne , former members of the SSP Executive Committee, Patricia Smith, Graeme McIver, Jock Penman, and Sheridan's father-in-law, Angus Healey, were also charged with perjury. On 27 January 2009, Sheridan and his wife were indicted for perjury, and were summoned to attend

7592-515: The politician George Galloway and leading trade unionist Bob Crow (RMT). At a June 2008 rally organised by the campaign, speakers including FBU secretary Kenny Ross, Paddy Hill , and Gerry Conlon queried the motives for the investigation, questioned the role of the police and Crown Office and verbally attacked the witnesses who had given evidence unhelpful to Sheridan in the original hearing. In March 2007, Lothian and Borders Police investigated claims that Tommy Sheridan had been bugged after

7696-540: The presence of the nuclear fleet at the Faslane Naval Base . In 2006, in the case of Sheridan v News International , he won an action for defamation against the News of the World and was awarded £200,000 damages. The following year, he was charged with perjury for having told lies to the court in his defamation case. In the following weeks, six of his relatives and colleagues were also charged. In October 2010, he appeared together with his wife Gail at

7800-549: The public face of a mass non-payment campaign against the Community Charge in Scotland (where it was introduced a year earlier than other parts of the UK "as an experiment"). The campaign involving the refusal to pay the tax, together with resistance to warrant sales which local councils held to try to recoup the money, was ultimately successful and Sheridan became a popular political figure. Sheridan denounced those who fought

7904-456: The regular stamp-out-these-hippie-dope-fiends "exposés" that fueled the dangerous red-faced ire of all the saloon bar tweed blowhards who "only read the paper for the sports" and not the weekly catalogue of rape cases. And then, of course, the whole game was played all over again against John Rotten and his ilk in the punk era. Rupert Murdoch has closed down his disgusting organ and I hope its memory will yellow and decay. Unfortunately, I suspect

8008-539: The remaining 26 pence for each copy went to retailers selling the paper and to wholesalers. Shutting the newspaper cost News Group Newspapers around £240m. The government of the United Kingdom said it had no role in the decision. James Murdoch claimed that the company was fully co-operating with ongoing police investigations. The edition of 10 July 2011 of the News of the World carried its final headline, "Thank You & Goodbye", superimposed on top of

8112-467: The same charges. In a September 2010 interview broadcast on 7 July 2011 on the BBC Radio 4 news programme The World at One , former News of the World features editor Paul McMullan made an admission relating to police corruption. He told of having used material obtained by a colleague's bribery of a police officer as the basis of a series of articles published over several years on Jennifer Elliott,

8216-473: The scandal. Three journalists on the newspaper were initially arrested: Ian Edmondson and Neville Thurlbeck on 5 April and James Weatherup on 14 April. The newspaper "unreservedly" apologised for its phone hacking activities during April 2011. On 4 July 2011, it was disclosed that potential evidence had been deleted in spring 2002 from the hacked voicemail account of Milly Dowler , then missing, but later found to have been murdered. On 13 December 2006,

8320-417: The staff and its readers, concluding, "In the best tradition, we are going to the pub." The paper's final, and unattributed, editorial, stated that "Phones were hacked, and for that this newspaper is truly sorry... there is no justification for this appalling wrongdoing." The final edition sold 3.8 million copies, about a million more than usual. There was soon speculation that News International would launch

8424-535: The then editor, Colin Myler, described it as "the greatest newspaper in the world" as it had won four awards at the British Press Awards. The award for News Reporter of the Year, went to Mazher Mahmood, the "fake sheikh" who hides his identity, for his exposé of corruption in the cricketing world. The paper also won top show-business reporter and magazine of the year. It was rumoured that NotW could even win

8528-427: The then- chief constable of Gloucestershire , Tony Butler. From the nineties until the newspaper’s demise in 2011, reporters at the paper used private investigators to illegally gain access to hundreds of mobile phone voicemail accounts held by a variety of people of interest to the newspaper. In 2007 the paper's royal correspondent, Clive Goodman , pleaded guilty to illegal interception of personal communication and

8632-560: The time that he had no intention of paying the fine. He served five days of a 14-day jail sentence the next month for this reason, and was released on 22 December. Sheridan was arrested again at Faslane on 22 October 2001 shortly after the protest began at 7   am. He was cleared when the case came to court in June 2002, the Justice of the Peace said there was insufficient evidence. Another acquittal in October 2001, this time regarding

8736-430: The top award, Newspaper of the Year. It was announced on 7 July 2011 that, after 168 years in print, the newspaper would print its final edition on 10 July 2011 following revelations of the ongoing phone hacking scandal , with the loss of 200 jobs. The paper announced that all profits from the final edition – 74 pence out of the £1 cover price – would go to "good causes", and advertising space would be given to charities;

8840-548: The two-year fast track degree, graduating in 2015. He also played football at Junior level with Larkhall Thistle , Benburb , East Kilbride Thistle , Baillieston Juniors and St Anthony's . Sheridan became a member of the Militant group while a student at Stirling University in around 1983, after being active in a broad-based anti-Trotskyist group including Liberals and Communists as well as Labour Party members. After graduation, he went to Cardonald College as

8944-409: The video is a fake. He conceded his voice was on the tape but suggested it was spliced with clips of the voice of someone else. The News of the World claimed four independent voice analysts had confirmed that the voice on the tape is that of Tommy Sheridan. However, in an interview with the BBC a forensic speech scientist, Peter French, said: "Experts should never say conclusively they have identified

9048-480: The website had 268,000 hits and 30,000 visits with a median of 5 pages read per visit. This meant readership had more than doubled in the last 3 years. This article related to the politics of Scotland is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This European political magazine or journal-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . See tips for writing articles about magazines . Further suggestions might be found on

9152-622: Was Alice Sheridan, a political activist who stood as a candidate for political groups involving her son. Sheridan, raised in Roman Catholic faith, attended St Monica's Primary ( Pollok ) and Lourdes Secondary before studying at the University of Stirling , where he received a degree in economics. He obtained a MSc in Social Research at the University of Strathclyde in 2008. He studied law at Strathclyde Law School , on

9256-576: Was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region from 1999 to 2007. Sheridan was active as a Militant entryist in the Labour Party until 1989 when Labour expelled him, and became a member of Scottish Militant Labour (SML), which eventually became the core of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP). He was a prominent campaigner against the Poll tax in Scotland, and

9360-432: Was a split in the Militant in what has become known as the 'Scottish Turn'; Scottish Militant Labour had gained six councillors in Glasgow by 1993, including Sheridan. With a strong Scottish National Party (SNP), Scottish Militant Labour argued in favour of founding a new, left-wing political party. Discussions were held with other left-wing and Scottish republican groups and a new group was formed in 1996 known initially as

9464-573: Was also a News of the World Championship in snooker from 1950 to 1959 which eclipsed the official professionals' competition for a number of years. In athletics, the Emsley Carr Mile race was started in 1953 in memory of the former editor, and is still run annually. The paper's Football Annual was a long-standing publication (sponsoring it until 2008), and a Household Guide and Almanac was also published at one time. By 1950,

9568-522: Was also raided by police and he was arrested and charged with cannabis possession along with his friend Stanislas "Stash" Klossowski, son of French artist Balthus . Jagger and Richards were tried at the end of June. On 29 June, Jagger was sentenced to three months' imprisonment for possession of four amphetamine tablets; Richards was found guilty of allowing cannabis to be smoked on his property and sentenced to one year in prison. Both Jagger and Richards were imprisoned at that point, but were released on bail

9672-452: Was announced that the first edition of The Sun on Sunday would be printed on 26 February 2012. It would employ some former News of the World journalists. The newspaper was first published as The News of the World on 1 October 1843, by John Browne Bell in London. Priced at three pence (equal to £1.55 in 2023), even before the repeal of the Stamp act (1855) or paper duty (1861), it was

9776-484: Was bought from the Carrs by Rupert Murdoch 's media firm News Limited . In 1984, as News Limited reorganised into News International , a subsidiary of News Corporation , the newspaper transformed into a tabloid and became the Sunday sister paper of The Sun . The News of the World concentrated in particular on celebrity scoops, gossip and populist news. Its somewhat prurient focus on sex scandals gained it

9880-463: Was edited by Robin McAlpine from the early 2000s until mid-2014. It is now edited by Gregor Gall . The magazine survives through a combination of pay for subscriptions for the hard copy of the magazine, advertising from unions and progressive organisation and donations from readers and supporters. Visits to the magazine's website run into the hundreds of thousands. For example, in January 2016,

9984-473: Was embarrassed about her past, but that she was telling the truth, Sheridan unflinching brandished her as a perjurer, plotter and gold-digger. [...] I still find it astonishing, and not a little dispiriting, that anyone on the left – any decent human being in fact – could justify traducing a female socialist's character in court, not once, but twice, in order to protect a leading socialist politician's false reputation." On 4 August 2006, Sheridan won his case with

10088-481: Was formally acquitted after the case against him was dismissed by a judge. An appeal hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh against the 2006 defamation award in light of Sheridan's later perjury conviction began on 10 May 2016. New Group Newspapers (now part of News UK ) lost their appeal against the award of £200,000 damages to Sheridan on 19 August 2016. News of the World The News of

10192-560: Was found guilty of all five murders at his trial 14 months later and sentenced to life imprisonment . In 2002, Mazher Mahmood , an undercover reporter working for the News of the World , also known as the Fake Sheikh, allegedly exposed a plot to kidnap Victoria Beckham . Five men were arrested but the trial later collapsed when it emerged News of the World had paid its main witness Florim Gashi £10,000 to work with Mazher Mahmood. Florim Gashi later admitted working with Mahmood to set up

10296-465: Was in triumphant mood: The British counterculture and The News Of The World have had an adversarial relationship that goes back for almost half a century. I recall, way back in 1967, being beaten bloody by police outside the NOTW offices in London's Fleet Street while protesting the newspaper's part in the jailing of Keith Richards and Mick Jagger after the Redlands drug bust. And then there were

10400-476: Was jailed for four months; the paper's editor, Andy Coulson , had resigned two weeks earlier. In 2009/2010, further revelations emerged on the extent of the phone hacking, and how it was common knowledge within the News of the World and its News International parent. According to a former reporter at the paper, "Everyone knew. The office cat knew", about the illegal activities used to scoop stories. On 17 January 2011, The Guardian reported that Glenn Mulcaire,

10504-441: Was jailed for six months for attending a warrant sale in 1991 after Glasgow Sheriff Court had served a court order on him banning his presence. He was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as a Glasgow representative and re-elected in 2003 despite, in 2000 and 2002, being jailed over the non-payment of fines levied in connection with breach of the peace convictions resulting from his actions at demonstrations against

10608-573: Was sentenced to seven days in jail, serving 3 days, plus the night in custody after his arrest. Before presenting himself for arrest at Glasgow police station on 24 August 2003, Sheridan had told reporters: "Nuclear weapons are a crime against humanity and should be removed from the Clyde and from Britain." In September 2006, Tommy Sheridan formed a new political party in Scotland named Solidarity , with himself and fellow MSP Rosemary Byrne as joint convenors. Sheridan narrowly failed to be re-elected in

10712-604: Was sold by the Bell family in 1891 to Henry Lascelles Carr who owned the Welsh Western Mail . As editor, he installed his nephew Emsley Carr , who held the post for 50 years. The real engine of the paper's now quick commercial success, however, was George Riddell , who reorganised its national distribution using local agents. Matthew Engel , in his book Tickle the Public: One Hundred Years of

10816-406: Was to deny the allegations". Sheridan claimed this minute was not accurate. Eleven members, including four of the party's MSPs, stated they heard Sheridan admit to visiting the swingers' club at that meeting. Rosemary Byrne MSP and two other members of the executive committee, Graham McIver and Pat Smith, gave evidence that Sheridan made no such statement. The minutes record that Sheridan left

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