Higgins vows to clear name in fixing row

SUSPENDED snooker champion John Higgins said he is fighting "the biggest match of my life" as he vowed to clear his name over match-fixing allegations.

The 34-year-old millionaire insisted his conscience was "100 per cent clear" as bribery claims against him overshadowed the World Championship final.

Footage of Higgins, from Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, and manager Pat Mooney allegedly agreeing to accept 261,000 in return for arranging the outcome of four frames in matches was released by a Sunday newspaper. But the three-times world champion said he never deliberately missed a shot in his 18-year career, which he built "on honesty and integrity".

He said he was "spooked" and "just wanted to get out of the hotel" when he met undercover reporters posing as businessmen in Kiev, Ukraine. In a statement, he added: "I didn't know if this was the Russian mafia or who we were dealing with."