An ambulance service boss who tried to run over his wife and threatened to chop her head off with an axe is allegedly hounding her again following his release from prison, MSPs have heard.

Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) manager Grant Gordon was jailed for waging "a campaign of terror" against his wife Maureen, Labour equalities spokeswoman Jackie Baillie told Holyrood.

Some of the abuse took place on SAS premises, where Ms Gordon also worked as a paramedic, but nothing was done by the service despite 29 complaints by her union to managers, Ms Baillie said.

Mr Gordon was released after a few months with an electronic tag but has since "been seen waiting for her to show up outside her mother's house and elsewhere", she added.

Ms Baillie has urged Equalities Minister Shona Robison to meet Ms Gordon to discuss these "failings" by the SAS and the justice system.

The latest revelations in the case emerged during a debate on domestic abuse at Holyrood today.

Ms Robison said cases of domestic abuse have risen by 0.5% in the last year to over 60,000.

Police Scotland has made domestic abuse one of their top priorities, alongside rape which "is now being treated as seriously as murder", she said.

But Conservative justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell accused the Scottish Government of offering "platitudes" and failing to take "meaningful" action, insisting that the SNP administration are "part of the problem".

Ms Baillie said: "Maureen Gordon worked for the SAS and so did her ex-partner.

"He engaged in what can only be described as a campaign of terror - he hounded her at work, tried to run her over in an ambulance service car, threatened to chop her head off with an axe and he engaged in a range of other intimidating behaviours, too many to name.

"Twenty-nine times her shop stewards in the GMB complained to managers.

"Indeed she lost count of how many times she complained to managers over a two-year period. The result? No apparent action by the ambulance service. She had to take her case to the courts.

"Her ex-partner received a custodial sentence but the sheriff slammed the ambulance service for failing to act on her complaints.

"Her partner is now out of prison with a tag, having only served a matter of months. He has been seen waiting for her to show up outside her mother's house and elsewhere.

"She appears to have been failed by her employers and now by a justice system that allows her partner to be out and about."

Ms Robison said: "Over 60,000 incidents of domestic abuse were recorded in 2012/13, an increase of 0.5% from the previous year.

"It's likely that this increase, to some extent, reflects the greater reporting of domestic abuse to the police, and the confidence which those experience abuse have in the response of the police and other partners, and that is to be welcomed."

She added: "Police Scotland has made tackling domestic abuse and rape as two of their top three priorities.

"Rape is now being taken as seriously as murder. Every rape investigation will be led by a detective inspector or above, leading a team of people who have the same skill sets as those used during homicide investigations.

"Rapes committed after April 1 2013 which remain unsolved will be subject to cold case reviews in the same way as murders."

Conservative justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell said: "The 60,000 domestic abuse incidents recorded last year are nearly double those recorded 10 years ago.

"In the same time, incidents reported to the procurator fiscal have risen from 9,000 to over 23,000.

"Rape and attempted rape are also at a historic high, while sexual assaults rose by 3% in the last year."

She added: "Platitudes are not enough, and I'm afraid when opportunities to do something meaningful now to address this travesty of justice are rejected I find it hard to be charitable to this SNP majority government who on this issue have become part of the problem."