Scotland's former first minister Alex Salmond has been acquitted of sexual assault charges.
A jury at the High Court in Edinburgh returned verdicts of acquittal on 13 charges involving nine women.
The 65-year-old pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, which were alleged to have taken place between June 2008 and November 2014.
Mr Salmond said claims against him were a fabrication for a political purpose.
Emerging from court, he said he had been through a "nightmare" and thanked his friends and family for "standing by me over the last two years".
He added: "Whatever nightmare I've been in over the last two years it is nothing compared to the nightmare that every single one of us is currently living through.
"People are dying, many more are going to do so."
Mr Salmond was the leader of the SNP from 1990-2000 - and then for a second period between 2004 and 2014.
He formed a government by winning the 2007 Holyrood parliament elections, but stepped down in 2014 after the independence referendum was defeated.
Reporting by IRN
