A former Scottish Conservative election candidate has been suspended from the party after a woman alleged he sexually assaulted her.

Stuart Cullen, who stood in the Glasgow North seat in June, is alleged to have assaulted the woman during his time at Oxford University.

The allegation was made by fashion journalist Lou Stoppard in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

A party spokesman said: "We take allegations like these extremely seriously.

"Mr Cullen has been suspended with immediate effect, subject to further inquiry.

"We would encourage anyone to report such allegations to the police."

Following the publication of the allegations Mr Cullen, who now works at an investment bank in London, has deleted his social media accounts.

Mr Cullen is understood to deny the allegations and to have engaged lawyers.