Sheridan family take the stand in perjury trial

A MAN swore to his pregnant wife on their unborn child's life that allegations he had joined in sex romps with Tommy Sheridan were untrue, a court has heard.

Andrew McFarlane, 40, told a jury he had never met the women making the claims, which were "absolute nonsense".

He said he had been watching golf on televison at home when he was supposed to have visited a swingers' club, but admitted he first discussed the "alibi" with Sheridan's lawyers only a few weeks ago.

Sheridan's sister, Lynn Sheridan, 52, gave evidence that it was "absolutely not" his voice in a secretly recorded video. The tape alleged she had talked with Sheridan about his "getting up to whatever" and leaving his wife, Gail, but there had never been such a discussion between them, said Miss Sheridan.

Sheridan, 46, and his wife, 46, deny giving perjured evidence in 2006 when he won a defamation action against the News of the World over allegations it printed about his private life.

Mr McFarlane, who is married to Gail Sheridan's sister Gillian, gave a newspaper interview in 2006 in the wake of the civil case, during which he had been named in the evidence. He told the paper he had sworn to his wife on his dead mother's ashes and their unborn child's life that the sex orgy claims were lies.

Under questioning by Sheridan at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday, Mr McFarlane appeared to become emotional at mention of his mother, who died in 1997.

"Are you happy to repeat what you said (to the paper] in 2006 today?" Sheridan asked.

"Yes… but it would be very difficult to say that," he said.

"I'm not going to ask you to say that," Sheridan responded.

The prosecution has alleged that Sheridan and Mr McFarlane went to Cupid's sex club in Manchester on Friday, 27 September, 2002, with another man, Gary Clark, and two women, Anvar Khan and Katrine Trolle.

Mr McFarlane said he had been recuperating from hip surgery. That Friday had been the first day of the Ryder Cup golf tournament and he watched it on television.

"Therefore it is impossible what is being alleged against me," said Mr McFarlane.

He explained that other dates had been mentioned in the 2006 trial and it was only during the current case that 27 September, 2002, had been specified. It featured, along with his photograph, in a television report of the case about six or seven weeks ago. He was deeply offended, had made checks and informed Sheridan's lawyers he had been at home on that date.

He had never been to Manchester, far less a sex club there, and allegations by Ms Khan and Ms Trolle that he had attended with them were absolute nonsense, he said.

The trial continues.