Jan 27 2011 Chris Musson

tommy and gail sheridan arrive for his sentencing

LIAR Tommy Sheridan was "happy as Larry" yesterday as he started a prison sentence that could be over by Christmas.

The former Scottish Socialist leader had just been jailed for three years for lying on oath to cover up his adultery and visits to a swingers' club.

But early release policies and prison overcrowding mean prisoner number 32057 could be freed on an electronic tag in just NINE MONTHS.

Senior legal minds had predicted that Sheridan could face a sentence of five years.

And he couldn't hide his glee in the basement of the High Court in Glasgow as he prepared to board a Reliance van for the drive to Barlinnie jail.

Insiders heard Sheridan describe his sentence as a "f****** result". One said: "He looked happy as Larry."

Sheridan was still smirking in the van as it ran the gauntlet of photographers outside court.

Twenty minutes earlier, Sheridan had been led from the dock in handcuffs with the salutes of his supporters ringing in his ears.

As he was taken down, wife Gail and a small band of friends rose to their feet, raised their fists and shouted "Solidarity!"

Sheridan's mum Alice yelled: "The man who could not be bought!"

Oddly, there was also a cry of "See you in heaven!" Sheridan turned and shouted back: "Love you. Take care. All the best."

But despite all the hero-worship, yesterday's sentence left Sheridan utterly disgraced.

And the judge told him he had brought his shame on himself.

Sheridan stared straight ahead as Lord Bracadale said: "On any view, you were a highly effective and hard-working politician.

"You supported individuals, both in the parliament and in the street. You were able to use your undoubted powers of oratory to press home your cause.

"You led the Scottish Socialist Party to considerable electoral success, and your contributions to the anti-poll tax campaign and the abolition of warrant sales will become part of the fabric of Scottish social and political history.

"By pursuing, and persisting in the pursuit of, a defamation action against the proprietors of the News of the World, you brought the walls of the temple crashing down - not only on your own head, but on the heads of your family and political friends and foes alike.

"You were repeatedly warned by the comrades that it would come to this.

"Perjury must always be seen as a serious crime. It strikes at the basis of our system of justice."

Lord Bracadale said he had considered Sheridan's social inquiry report, the 50-minute plea for leniency he made on his own behalf earlier in the day, and the fact that the charges against him had been "significantly reduced" during his trial.

He concluded: "In all the circumstances, I impose a sentence of three years imprisonment."

Sheridan, 46, sowed the seeds of his own downfall in 2006, when he won £200,000 damages against the News of the World over stories that he was an adulterer who had visited a swinger's club called Cupid's in Manchester.

He had admitted at an SSP executive meeting that he had visited the club, but he claimed in court that all the former comrades who heard his confession were liars who were out to get him.

Sheridan also branded ex-mistress Katrine Trolle a liar and swore on oath that he had never been to Cupid's.

He crowed over his victory and branded his former SSP colleagues "scabs", but he found himself in the dock last October after he and Gail were charged with perjury.

Trolle gave evidence against him, as did a long list of SSP figures including ex-MSPs Colin Fox, Frances Curran, Carolyn Leckie and Rosie Kane.

The case tore Scotland's far-left apart. Sheridan supporters from his new Solidarity party held up fake "wanted" posters outside court yesterday accusing Fox and Leckie of "crimes against socialism".

Gail, 46, was cleared during the marathon three-month trial but Sheridan was convicted by majority of a single count of perjury involving five separate allegations.

He was effectively snared by his former best pal, George McNeilage, who secretly taped him talking of his trips to Cupid's and affair with Trolle. The jury didn't believe his claims that the man on the tape was an actor hired as part of a plot to ruin him.

Sheridan sacked his counsel days into the trial and represented himself, as he had done in the defamation case.

And he spoke for himself yesterday - for almost an hour - as he begged Lord Bracadale to pass a "proportionate and reasonable" sentence.

Sheridan got a hero's welcome from supporters outside court as he arrived to make his plea. He grinned broadly as one wellwisher grabbed him in a hug.

Inside, Sheridan told the judge he accepted a jail term was inevitable.

But he said the "clang of the prison gates", not the length of the sentence, was the "real deterrent".

He asked Lord Bracadale to consider the impact that jailing him would have "on the rest of my life and my family".

And he said lying in a civil case could be considered less serious than perjury in a criminal trial.

Sheridan ended by saying: "I remain a passionate socialist, and am determined to put to positive use my time in custody. On my release I will return to fight for justice, for equality and for peace."

He did not admit any guilt. But he was also careful not to protest his innocence in the speech, which he wrote with the help of his solicitor, Aamer Anwar.

Lord Bracadale retired for 30 minutes to consider Sheridan's words, and the perjurer spent his last moments of freedom with family and friends in the court canteen.

He smiled and hugged his wife and mum as he returned to the dock to be sentenced. And legal sources last night said it might not be too long before Sheridan is reunited with his family.

A prison service insider told the Record: "Between nine to 12 months for his release with an electronic tag is realistic. It depends on a lot of factors, including him being a model prisoner."

But although he was happy with his sentence, Sheridan is still furious that he was convicted at all.

In a statement read by Anwar outside court, he confirmed that he plans to appeal - and to start legal action against the News of the World for allegedly hacking his mobile phone.

Sheridan said: "For far too long, the News of the World has scapegoated and destroyed lives with immunity (sic).

"This multi-million pound prosecution will separate me from my wife and child and that will be heartbreaking. But I will continue to fight a system that protects the real criminals - the rich and the powerful."