Former Health Minister Jim Wells said he felt 'vindicated' after a woman pleaded guilty to falsely accusing him of making homophobic comments during a hustings event in 2015.

The woman, from Dungannon, is due to be sentenced next month.

Forty nine year old Dorothy Elaine Gardner of Killycanavan Road appeared at Downpatrick Court where she admitted wasting police time by falsely reporting a crime, on April 28 2015.

There was uproar following the Downpatrick event when Mr Wells were wrongly accused of making homophobic comments, criticising gay parents.

Although a subsequent transcript proved the claims were not true, the incident contributed to him losing his job days later.

Ms Gardner made a formal complaint to police after the hustings which included a statement claiming she had attended the event and heard the remarks.

A police investigation later cleared Mr Wells and concluded Gardener had not been present at the hustings.

At today’s court a defence barrister said Gardner was pleading guilty and the case was put back for four weeks for a pre sentence report.

Mr Wells was in court and afterwards said Gardner’s guilty plea had “vindicated” him.

The DUP MLA said his reputation and political career were destroyed by a series of totally false reports of what he said at the hustings as a result of which he was forced to resign as Health Minister and suffered months of online abuse.

Mr Wells said today’s court case was the first in a series of cases which he has instigated to clear his name and restore his reputation.

He said he is seeking apologies from Gardner and others who sought to destroy his reputation.