FORMER MSP Tommy Sheridan is pursuing legal action against a Scottish council after being rejected for a job as a social worker.
The former Scottish Socialist Party leader, who was jailed for committing perjury in 2011, has lodged a petition against Glasgow City Council and called for a judicial review.
This petition seeks to challenge the “decision to permanently exclude [Mr Sheridan] from being employed as a social worker in Glasgow”.
Sheridan rose to prominence in Scotland during a campaign against the poll tax in the late 1980s when he was the public face of a mass campaign against paying the controversial tax.
He formed the Scottish Socialist Party in the late 1990s which eventually went on to elect six MSPs to the Scottish Parliament in its’ peak.
Sheridan was later sentenced to three years in jail for lying in court during a civil action against the News of the World newspaper.
After a three-month trial at the High Court in Glasgow, he was found guilty of lying and sent to prison for perjury.
He appealed against his conviction in 2015, and again in 2016. Both applications were refused.
In the action against Glasgow City Council, Sheridan is listed as being represented by the law firm Drummond Miller, and the Govan Law Centre is instructed as principal agent.
A council spokesman said: “We have responded to Mr Sheridan’s petition and are waiting to hear if it will be accepted by the court. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this point.”
A judge will now determine whether the case may proceed, and no hearing has been set.
