Police today launched a perjury investigation into allegations that witnesses lied under oath during the Tommy Sheridan libel battle against the News of the World.

Detectives from Lothian and Borders Police were ordered to begin an inquiry barely 24 hours after the tabloid newspaper, which was ordered to pay £200,000 to the socialist politician after losing the case this summer, published the transcript of a 40-minute video recording in which Mr Sheridan allegedly admits that he had cheated on his wife and visited a swingers club.

The News of the World claims that the recording shows that Mr Sheridan repeatedly lied during the trial at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, which ended with the firebrand politician winning a famous victory which he hailed as the courtroom equivalent of Gretna Football Club beating Real Madrid.

He had been accused by the newspaper of habitually cheating on his wife, taking part in orgies and visiting swingers clubs.

Although the recording has yet to be handed to detectives, excerpts could be heard on a special telephone hotline set up by the News of the World over the weekend and via the newspaper's website.

Mr Sheridan has said that the recording had been fabricated. "A fictitious tape has been invented, concoted and unleashed on the Scottish public sick to the back teeth of the News of the World's constant lies," he said.

The Crown Office in Edinburgh said today that it was ordering the investigation on the basis of "information presently available", although inquiries from The Times this weekend suggested that, until publication of the tape transcript, it was still in the early stages of making a deicision.

After the trial concluded in August the Crown Office said that it would review all testimony given during the five-week case before deciding whether to launch an inquiry.

The Crown Office said tonight: "It is not possible to speculate as to any possible lines of inquiry, or on the possible timescale for the investigation. As in any ongoing criminal investigation, the Crown will not be discussing the available evidence through the media."

Every witness who testified during the trial, either for or against Mr Sheridan, will be scrutinised during the investigation, including Mr Sheridan himself, his wife Gail, and the testimony of a number of Scottish Socialist Party MSPs.

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