Tommy Sheridan, a former socialist MSP, rejects social workers’ work because perjury conviction poses an “unacceptable risk”
A court heard that his perjury conviction posed an “unacceptable risk” as his former socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan was denied a job as a social worker.
After Mr Sheridan was convicted of perjury and three years in jail in 2010, a jury found him lying, saying he had visited Manchester Characteristics Club and had a relationship with former Scottish Socialist activist Katrine Tarlle.
The former MSP had previously won £200,000 after world news printed allegations about his private life.
He has taken him to court after Glasgow City Council refused to hire him as a criminal justice social worker.
The Council told him that his conviction poses great risks to the authorities and that any future application will not be successful.
Mr. Sheridan has now directed his lawyers to go to the Supreme Civil Court of Scotland to force the Council to overturn its decision.
The Council insists that there is a legal right to refuse to hire a job from Mr. Sheridan.
The court heard that the social work boss sent him a letter in August 2024 telling him that his conviction posed an “unacceptable risk” to the Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership.
Mr. Sheridan appears in court to watch the lawsuit with his wife Gale and daughter Gabriel
More communication with Mr. Sheridan told him that future applications for organizational work will not “progress”.
Yesterday, his lawyer Mike Dailly told Lord Young that the council had taken illegal action in its decision to permanently exclude Sheridan from work on social work with local authorities.
He said that the bodies of regulating social work at the Scottish Social Service Commission (Scotland Social Service Commission) have been assessed by Mr Sheridan as an appropriate candidate for work in the industry.
Mr. Dailly told the judicial review at the meeting court in Edinburgh: “It’s a simple thing – the petitioner is evaluated by the statutory social work agency as a healthy person in his occupation. He is also evaluated as suitable for working with children and young people under the PVG program.
“The petitioner was told that he could not become a social worker. However, the Scottish Parliament allowed the role and responsibility of the SSSC to determine who is a suitable person to become a social worker.
The SSSC said the petitioner was a suitable person. I say the decisions made by the Council are irrational – it cannot be said that the petitioner cannot be a social worker.
He hoped Lord Young would pass a legal decree saying that the decision of the Glasgow City Council was “illegal” because it “permanently excluded” his work in social work in local authorities.
The lawyer also hopes that the Glasgow City Council will make a decision on Mr Sheridan’s job application.
Mr. Sheridan appeared in court to observe the lawsuit with his wife Gail and daughter Gabrielle.
They heard Paul Reid KC, a lawyer for Glasgow City Council, telling the court that Glasgow City Council had taken legal action and had the right to refuse employment to Mr Sheridan.
Speaking about the SSSC’s assessment of Mr. Sheridan, he said: “This is a registration. It does not grant employment rights.
“Registration with the Scottish Bar Association does not grant the right to employed persons – with the registration with the General Medical Committee does not grant the right to work as a doctor.”
Mr Reed said the decision made by Glasgow City Council was a “employment decision” and that judicial review would not be challenged.
Lord Young told the court that he hoped to have time to consider the legal issues highlighted by the lawyers. He said he would make a decision sometime in the near future.
He added: “Obviously, this is an important thing.”
The former MSP posted online last summer about graduates from social work after graduation from the University of Caledonia in Glasgow.
Sources said he has applied for a job in the industry but cannot secure a position.
Sheridan once led the Scottish Socialist Party, which won many seats in Holyrood in 1999 and 2003.
He is known for his thriving voice and frequent use of sunbeds, and he is a prominent opponent of the polls.
In 2004 and 2005, Le Monde’s news published a story claiming he had gone to the swinger’s club and deceived his wife.
MSP, which explicitly denied the allegations, sued newspapers for defamation.
After the trial, the jury found that the newspaper’s false claims damaged his reputation and received £200,000 in compensation.
The newspaper claimed the tape recorded lying in a defamation case, and later he was charged with perjury and later recorded a recording in the newspaper, which he later began a criminal investigation.
After a trial in Glasgow High Court in 2010, the jury found he had lied in an earlier court case and visited the swinger’s club despite his denial.
In 2022, he was declared bankrupt for failing to successfully prove that he was a victim of judicial miscarriage.
