Krishna Singh, 72, was found guilty of numerous sexual offences, against 48 victims - including a woman who had been raped - following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

The disgraced medic, who targeted victims from 1983 until 2018, was described as "predatory" by the senior detective who led the investigation – codenamed Operation Rule – and since his conviction four more women have made serious allegations against him.

A jury last month found Singh guilty 54 charges, including preying on the rape victim, teenage children and pregnant women.

Krishna Singh was given an MBE by the Queen for services to healthcare

The were subjected to kissing, groping, inappropriate examinations and sleazy comments during appointments.

Prosecutors said he was "hiding in plain sight" over the four decades, even earning an award in the Honours list.

Singh denied any wrongdoing and insisted the patients were wrong - and that some of the examinations were what he had been taught during medical training in India.

The offences mainly occurred at medical practices in North Lanarkshire, but also at a hospital accident and emergency department and a police station as well as during visits to patients' homes.

Singh, of Airdrie, Lanarkshire, also worked as a police casualty surgeon, which included examining victims of sexual violence.

He targeted a 50-year-old hospital worker at Motherwell police station in March 2008 after she reported being raped.

The woman was left shocked after the GP quizzed her on whether sex was consensual and was later molested by him.

She told jurors: "He asked me if I had been wearing a skirt and I said I was wearing a jeans and t-shirt.

"He asked how low my top was and if my cleavage was showing.

"He was asking if I was being provocative. He said 'so, you are not a good time girl'."

While Singh was seen by many as a caring medical professional he soon gained a notoriety among female patients.

Woman after woman came into the witness box to recount how they had suffered at his hands.

Many insisted a friend or relative joined them at appointments. Others said they thought of Singh as a "creep" and a "wee pervert".

One woman said: "He was like Benny Hill, he came with both hands, groped my breasts. He laughed."

Jailing Singh, trial judge Lord Armstrong said his sexual abuse was "calculated and manipulative" against 48 women.

He added: "You perpetrated these crimes against these patients over a period of 34 years.

"I consider it a grave aggravation that when you committed the crimes it was a breach of trust.

"You abused this position to carry out unnecessary physical examinations of a sexual nature including examinations without a chaperone and in circumstances where there were no clinical justifications for your actions.

"You undermined the standing of the medical profession and eroded the trust the female patients."

After seeing Singh jailed, Detective Inspector Stephen Morris, said: "Krishna Singh is now facing the consequences of his appalling and predatory behaviour.

"The victims have shown great courage in coming forward with vital information, making sure he was held accountable for his actions, and ultimately convicted.

'Calculating and manipulative' Scottish GP who sexually abused female patients is jailed for 12 years