Alan McCombes

With Tommy Sheridan, he was also author of Imagine: A Socialist Vision for the 21st Century, described by Tony Benn as "one of the very best books I have ever read on the subject of socialism".

Throughout the 1990s, he challenged the traditional "British Road to Socialism", arguing for the left to champion the idea of an independent Scottish socialist republic.

In this role, he encouraged a rethink of the educational approach within the party and the adoption of more Marxist styles of engagement, influenced in particular by Paulo Freire.

[3] McCombes co-ordinated the SSP's electoral campaign for the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, which saw the return of 6 MSPs for the party.

On 26 May 2006 he was jailed for 12 days and his home was raided by Messengers at Arms after he refused to comply with the order to hand over the documents.

He declared himself a hostile witness, describing the case as a "squalid little squabble" but was ordered to answer questions by the judge.

"[6] In August 2006, in the aftermath of the Sheridan defamation case, McCombes publicly released an all-members bulletin addressed to members of the SSP, entitled "The Fight for the Truth" in which he said Tommy Sheridan's libel victory over the News of the World "could set back the cause of socialism by years if not decades" because of the divisions that had occurred within the party and went on to give his view of the events leading up to the trial.