Andy Coulson appears in Glasgow to face perjury charge

The Prime Minister’s former communications chief Andy Coulson has appeared in court charged with perjury.

Coulson, 45, appeared in private on petition at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Thursday last week.

He made no plea or declaration and was granted bail.

At the time of the hearing, the court made an order banning publication of the proceedings until an unspecified future date.

That ban has now been lifted after a challenge by media outlets, court officials said.

The move by Sheriff John McCormick came after he heard legal submissions on the issue.

A court spokeswoman said: “I can advise that the order was lifted after an application from the press.”

Coulson was detained for questioning at Govan police station in May last year.

Officers subsequently charged him and a report was sent to the procurator fiscal.

He is now expected to appear at court at a later date.

Coulson resigned as editor of the now-defunct News of the World newspaper in 2007.

He served as Downing Street’s communications chief, a role he quit in January 2011.