Coulson detained by police

David Cameron's former communications chief Andy Coulson has arrived at a Scottish police station to be questioned on suspicion of committing perjury during the trial of former MSP Tommy Sheridan.

The 44-year-old was detained in London this morning by officers from Strathclyde Police.

He arrived at Govan police station in Glasgow just before 3.30pm.

Police have 12 hours to question Mr Coulson before applying for a further 12-hour period if it is deemed necessary.

Andy Coulson has arrived at Govan Police Station in the south side of Glasgow.

Police now have 12 hours to question him before applying for a further 12 hour period, if it is deemed necessary.

Strathclyde Police have confirmed that Andy Coulson has arrived at Govan Police Station in the south side of Glasgow.

Police now have 12 hours to question him before applying for a further 12 hour period, if it is deemed necessary.

Tommy Sheridan was jailed for three years in January 2011 after being found guilty of perjury during his 2006 defamation action against the News of the World.

He had been awarded £200,000 in damages after winning the civil case but a jury at the High Court in Glasgow found him guilty of lying about the now-defunct tabloid's claims that he was an adulterer who visited a swingers' club.

Sheridan's trial, which lasted almost 12 weeks, was one of the longest of its kind in Scottish legal history.

He was convicted of five out of six allegations in a single charge of perjury relating to his evidence during the civil action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

His wife Gail was on trial along with him but was acquitted of lying to the court during his successful defamation action against the News of the World in 2006.

He was released from jail in January after serving one year of his sentence and vowed to continue the fight to clear his name.

Operation Rubicon detectives have been looking at whether certain witnesses lied to the court during Sheridan's trial as part of a "full" investigation into phone hacking in Scotland.

Mr Coulson, then employed by Downing Street as director of communications, told the trial in December 2010 he had no knowledge of illegal activities by reporters while he was editor of the News of the World.

He also claimed: "I don't accept there was a culture of phone hacking at the News of the World."

David Cameron's former communications chief Andy Coulson was detained in London this morning by officers from Strathclyde Police.

He has been detained on suspicion of committing perjury during the Tommy Sheridan trial in Glasgow. The 44-year-old gave evidence in Mr Sheridan's perjury trial at the High Court in Glasgow in December 2010.

Former News of the World Editor Andy Coulson has been detained by police. In Scottish law 'detained' means he will be questioned and then could later be released or arrested.

Former News of the World Editor Andy Coulson has been detained by police. Coulson who also worked as David Cameron's Director of Communications is being questioned by Strathclyde Police as part of a perjury investigation following the Tommy Sheridan trial.

In a statement police told STV: "Officers acting for Strathclyde Police Operation Rubicon detained a 44-year-old man in London this morning under Section 14 of the Criminal Procedure Scotland Act on suspicion of committing perjury at the High Court in Glasgow."