AN MSP who was found to have sexually harassed two women has defended his decision to call for the identity of accused people to be protected.

Mark McDonald, former SNP MSP and children's minster, was forced to resign last year after complaints were made about his conduct.

In one case, he sent a sexually explicit message to a woman on Twitter and in another incident he escorted a woman to his hotel room after a Christmas night out.

The woman was intoxicated and later told investigators she woke up in the bed with no idea how she got there.

Mr McDonald, who is now an independent MSP, this week lodged a question in parliament asking 'What steps are in place to prevent disclosure of an accused identify from compromising the safety of innocent parties?'

His question prompted calls from some activists for the MSP to resign, with Glasgow SNP councillor Rhiannon Spear stating: "The Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life found Mark McDonald's behaviour to be sexual harassment.

"He should have resigned, but instead he's there tabling questions about preventing the disclosure of the identity of the accused. "I wonder why? #RESIGN."

Ms Spear said: "Mark McDonald's behaviour was found to be sexual harassment and he admitted causing women considerable distress. Although I agree with the premise of the question, the timing and the person asking is in extremely bad taste."

Mr McDonald insisted the question had no relation to any previous incidents which he had been involved in and described the councillor's comments as 'vitriolic'.

He said the remark "seeks to imply a non-existent motive to my question." and added: "I raised this issue with the Justice Secretary as a result of constituency cases, where I had seen the impact that disclosure of an accused’s identity or address can have on innocent family members, who face possible reprisals.

“While it is welcome that in many cases this is prevented through orders of the court, there are cases which occasionally slip through the net and so anything that could be done to tighten that process would be beneficial to innocent parties who can find themselves facing difficulties.”