Former MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh has been found guilty of professional misconduct over her handling of a trust at a law firm where she was partner.

The SNP member was brought before a tribunal along with fellow solicitor Alan Mickel, with whom she ran the now defunct Hamilton Burns.

The case centred on a trust 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, it was heard.

The Law Society said Mr Mickel and Ms Ahmed-Sheikh showed "disregard for the rules" when they failed to keep proper accounts of the trust and sums were borrowed from the fund when it was not in the practice of lending money.

Their actions constituted a conflict of interest and risked undermining public confidence in the profession, it said.

At a hearing in Perth on Tuesday, Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal (SSDT) chairman Nicholas Whyte said it had found both guilty of professional misconduct.

The former colleagues were each fined £3000 and held liable for the expenses of the Law Society and the tribunal.

Ms Ahmed-Sheikh was a partner at Hamilton Burns 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.

An inspection of the firm raised concerns in October 2015 and Mr Mickel resigned that December.

The Law Society accepted the pair's belief the trust was not a client of the firm was "genuine but erroneous".

It was agreed there was no suggestion of dishonesty or personal benefit.

Ms Ahmed-Sheikh said in a statement after the hearing: "For nearly two years I have had to endure smear and innuendo and during the election campaign of 2017 a series of leaks suggested that I was being charged with financial impropriety and that funds had been taken from a vulnerable individual.

"Now it is admitted on all sides that there was no impropriety whatsoever and the trust has suffered no loss whatsoever.

"I am pleased that the tribunal has decided to impose the lower penalty of censure rather than striking off.

"At the hearing 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, who the panel heard would like to continue her legal career, added: "For my part I am more than satisfied that it is now accepted on all sides that there is no challenge to my personal integrity."