Image copyright PA Image caption Ms Ahmed-Sheikh was appearing before a disciplinary trinubal in Perth

Former SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh has been fined £3,000 after being found guilty of professional misconduct by a tribunal.

The case centred on her handling of a trust fund at a law firm where she was previously a partner.

She was brought before a tribunal along with fellow solicitor Alan Mickel, with whom she ran Hamilton Burns.

The Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal said the pair had shown "disregard for the rules".

But it also accepted that the pair's actions had been "genuine but erroneous", and it was agreed there was no suggestion of dishonesty or personal benefit.

The tribunal said the pair failed to keep proper accounts of a trust that was set up in May 2012 on behalf of Mr Mickel's sister, which he believed to be a "private, family matter" but in legal terms was considered a client of the firm.

Conflict of interest

They also borrowed sums of money from the trust when it was not in the practice of lending money, which the tribunal said amounted to a conflict of interest and risked undermining public confidence in the legal profession.

Both Ms Ahmed-Sheikh and Mr Mickel were fined £3,000 after being found guilty of professional misconduct by the tribunal after a two-day hearing in Perth.

Ms Ahmed-Sheikh was a partner at Hamilton Burns, which is no longer in business, and held the title of cash room manager before her resignation in May 2015, when she was elected MP for Ochil and South Perthshire.

She lost the seat in the 2017 general election, and now produces and appears on the Alex Salmond Show on Russian broadcaster RT.

An inspection of Hamilton Burns raised concerns in October 2015 and Mr Mickel resigned two months later.

Image copyright PA Image caption Ms Ahmed-Sheikh was sworn in as an MP in 2015 before losing her seat in the snap election two years later

Speaking after the hearing, Ms Ahmed-Sheikh said she had been forced to "endure smear and innuendo" for the past two years.

And she said there had been a "series of leaks" during the election campaign of 2017 which had "suggested that I was being charged with financial impropriety and that funds had been taken from a vulnerable individual".

She added: "It has been accepted that there is no suggestion of financial impropriety or dishonesty, and indeed the Law Society accepts that not only has there been no financial loss to the trust but actually a gain, and in any case funding was guaranteed by security over property."

Ms Ahmed-Sheikh also said she was pleased that the tribunal decided to impose the lower penalty of censure rather than striking her off.

House of Commons speaker John Bercow provided a character reference for Ms Ahmed-Sheikh, which was read to the panel during the hearing.

'Diligent and trustworthy'

He described her as being "passionate, fearless and extremely articulate", adding: "It has been a pleasure to work with Tasmina. I have found her to be honest, diligent and trustworthy."

Dorothy Bain QC, acting for Ms Ahmed-Sheikh, described the former MP's career as a practising solicitor from 1996 to 2015 as "unblemished" and said she would like to continue her legal work.

Ms Bain said: "It has been accepted entirely by the Law Society that there is no suggestion at all of dishonesty or impropriety on her part."

The panel heard 50-year-old Mr Mickel hoped to relocate to England and become a barrister.

Since resigning from Hamilton Burns he has been carrying out consultation work for a firm in Guildford, Surrey, and working as a off-piste ski guide in France.

His lawyer William McCreath said publicity surrounding the case before the tribunal had been "very damaging" to Mr Mickel both personally and professionally, which had in part led to his marriage breaking down.