On 22nd to 24th October 2014 the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh heard preliminary legal argument concerning the prosecution of former government director of communications Andy Coulson on charges of perjury.The case against Coulson, who also edited the now defunct News of the World between 2003 and 2007, centres on witness testimony he gave at the 2010 criminal trial of Scottish politician Tommy Sheridan, while Coulson was still employed at number 10 Downing St. Sheridan,who was himself on trial for perjury after a successful libel action against the News of the World, was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison.After the full extent of the phone-hacking scandal broke in 2011 Scottish police launched "Operation Rubicon" to investigate allegations of perjury at the Sheridan trial. As well as Coulson, two other witnesses the former Scottish editor of the News of the World Bob Bird, and the tabloid's Scottish news-editor Douglas Wight also face charges relating to their testimony.The pre-trial hearing, which cannot be reported for legal reasons, took place before Lord Burns.The trial is expected to commence in January 2015.