Bob Bird was giving evidence for a third day at the High Court in Glasgow The Tommy Sheridan perjury trial has heard his best man feared “retribution” for selling a video tape which allegedly incriminated the former MSP.
Scottish News of the World editor Bob Bird said George McNeilage was paid to take his family out of Glasgow at the time the story was due to be printed.
Mr Sheridan and his wife Gail deny perjury at the High Court in Glasgow.
They are accused of lying during his successful defamation action against the News of the World in 2006.
Mr Sheridan, the former leader of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP), won £200,000 in damages after the newspaper printed allegations about his private life, claiming he was an adulterer who had visited a swingers club.
Following a police investigation, the former MSP and his wife, both 46, were charged with perjury.
Mr Sheridan is representing himself at the perjury trial The trial previously heard how Mr McNeilage secretly recorded a tape in 2004 which is alleged to show Mr Sheridan discuss “confessing” to the allegations before an emergency meeting of the SSP.
While giving evidence for a third day, Mr Bird told the trial how Mr McNeilage, who had been the best man at Mr Sheridan’s wedding, approached the News of the World following the former MSP’s successful defamation action.
Under questioning from Mr Sheridan, who is representing himself in the trial, Mr Bird said Mr McNeilage was paid £1,000 to take his family on a short holiday on the weekend that the story was due to run.
But when the story did not appear in the newspaper, Mr Bird said he thought Mr McNeilage “might” have been given a further £1,000 to leave Glasgow on the weekend it was actually published.
Mr Bird said: “He was very worried about you and retribution that people who knew you might take on him.
“He wanted to go away. We gave him £1,000.
“The weekend that we ran the story he might have got another £1,000 to do the same thing for his family so they were safe.”
The court heard how Mr McNeilage had originally asked for £250,000 from the News of the World for the tape, but the newspaper eventually negotiated a £200,000 fee.
Mr Bird said: “We thought that was a bit expensive, which kind of blows a hole in your theory that we would spend anything to set you up.”
It is alleged that Mr Sheridan made false statements as a witness in his defamation action against the News of the World on 21 July 2006.
He also denies another charge of attempting to persuade a witness to commit perjury shortly before the 23-day legal action got under way.
Mrs Sheridan denies making false statements on 31 July 2006, after being sworn in as a witness in the civil jury trial at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
The trial, before Lord Bracadale, continues.
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