Tommy Sheridan's Open Letter to the SSP

This has been an astonishing week for anyone who has been following the fortunes of the Scottish Socialist Party. Tommy Sheridan the former SSP leader is suing the News of the World newspaper alleging that they printed untrue stories about him, specifically allegations of infidelity.

There are undoubtedly many who will wish Mr Sheridan well in his case. Once again, a major newspaper has printed scandalous allegations about a leading political figure. The truth or otherwise of those allegations will presumably be determined by the ongoing court case.

A fascinating aspect of this case is that a senior SSP official, Alan McCoombes has been jailed by the judge in the libel case who had demanded he hand over minutes of an SSP meeting which was in the final days of Tommy Sheridan's leadership. Mr McCoombes refused but following the intervention of Tommy Sheridan, these papers have now been handed to the judge and Mr McCombes has been released.

Tommy Sheridan has claimed in an open letter to SSP members that "senior SSP figures" have been spreading malicious rumours about him, including that he was a drug dealer and that he was involved in the trafficking of women.

Mr Sheridan's letter stated "Today, there exists an unsavoury cabal of comrades at the core of the leadership, their hands on the apparatus, who are more interested in pursuing personal vendettas, through vile lies and slander, than conducting the class struggle." and he referred to his treatment as "a political witch-hunt" reminiscent of the "dark days of Stalinism".

Dark days of Stalinism maybe but also dark days ahead for the SSP as their bitter splits have been dragged into the full glare of the media spotlight. Should Tommy Sheridan prevail over the News of the World in the courts, he may find that the party he led has disintegrated as the infighting intensifies and talk of bankruptcy emerges over doubts about their ability to pay their legal fees. In the meantime there will continue to be vile headlines in the gutter press regarding his personal life and no matter your political beliefs, nobody deserves that kind of treatment.