A senior Conservative MSP has said he faces a battle to restore his reputation despite being cleared of "completely false" sexual harassment allegations.

Miles Briggs, the party's Shadow Health Minister, said he and his family had suffered two months of "living hell" while he waited for a Tory disciplinary committee hearing into the claims.

He said they had "hung over him" during this period and thanked eight witnesses, especially SNP parliamentary researchers, who supported his version of events.

But he said he has to "rebuild my name and reputation" after the complainer spoke to a Left-wing tabloid on the eve of the supposedly confidential hearing.

The Lothian MSP admitted calling the woman, who works for the SNP, a "crazy bitch" at a party in February after she repeatedly hounded him over the child tax credit's so-called 'rape clause'.

But he denied the complaint she lodged in July that he "draped himself" on her, pinned her against a wall, caressed her hair and made several offensive sexual comments.

The woman said she was "gutted" by the verdict and claimed that "this end result was written from very early on." She had claimed his conduct had caused her three weeks of sleepless nights.