Former socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan is to face trial on perjury charges in connection with his newspaper defamation case, it was confirmed today.

The 44-year-old was served with legal papers confirming that the prosecution against him will go ahead - more than a year after he was charged by police.

His wife Gail, 44, was also served with an indictment over perjury charges.

Sheridan, who recently appeared on Channel 4's Celebrity Big Brother, was awarded £200,000 in damages after he took the News of the World to court in 2006.