Lawyers acting for Natalie McGarry, who was elected as Glasgow East MSP in 2015, had claimed in her appeal her embezzlement trial was prejudiced by a "tsunami" of Twitter posts saying she was already guilty ahead of the full hearing.

But on Thursday, the Court of Criminal Appeal rejected her appeal, confirming "there were strong enough safeguards in place" to give the 41-year-old a fair trial.

Lady Dorrian, who gave the judgment, compared the social media posts to "the modern-day equivalent of gossip and tittle-tattle at the bus stop or the pub".

She said the jury was given "four-and-a-half pages" of instructions to "put out of their minds anything they may have read in the past about the accused or circumstances relating to the charges".

"These were thorough and careful directions, making the position abundantly clear, and there is no basis for thinking that the jury did not follow them,” she said.

Judges refused the appeal against conviction, but McGarry's sentence of two years was changed to 20 months.

Former SNP MP Natalie McGarry loses appeal against embezzlement conviction