An acting lieutenant colonel has been cleared of sexually assaulting a transgender woman in an upmarket pub.

Samuel Hughes, 38, went to the bar in the Ubiquitous Chip, in Glasgow’s Ashton Lane on November 14, 2014, after he had been on a date. He ended up speaking to the woman who later accused him of sexual assault, and her then-girlfriend.

Lawyers for the high-ranking officer are now looking to have the woman prosecuted for perjury. Mr Hughes described how the female was joking with him for being "military" and that she told him to be "more flamboyant" and touched his chest area.

He told the court that in a "slightly camp" manner, he touched her back again on the chest area, and said “oh stop it”.

The officer denied touching her breast in the west end pub as was alleged. Sheriff David Young QC found Mr Hughes not guilty of sexually assaulting the woman.

He accepted Mr Hughes’ account that he mimicked the woman’s actions towards him. In a statement released by his lawyer Aamer Anwar, Mr Hughes said: "I always try to live my life by the Army’s code of honour and respect, but over a year ago this person almost destroyed my life with this hideous and false allegation.

"Whilst she had the benefit of anonymity, my life was turned upside down and all that I had worked for put at risk. I am grateful to my lawyers and to the army for their support. I am just relieved that justice has finally been done."

Mr Anwar said: "I am instructed to write to the Crown to raise the serious allegation of perjury with regards to the complainer."

During the trial the transgender woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, claimed Mr Hughes touched her breast.

She also alleged he made a number of transphobic remarks but he was cleared of that charge during his trial. In evidence Mr Hughes said: "The breast did not occur to me at all".

He explained to the court that the woman told him that she had gone through a change, from male to female, and had spent £40,000 to look the way she did.

Mr Hughes was asked what happened in the pub that evening and said that there was "slight mocking" of him for being "quite military".

Asked what the woman said to him, Mr Hughes told the sheriff: "'Perhaps you could be a bit more flamboyant like me' and leant over to me and as I recall touched me here (on his chest) at that time."

Defence counsel Sarah Livingstone asked: "What did you do?" Mr Hughes replied: "In a similar jokey way, as I am also making my way past to go to the toilet I repeated what she had done to me and said "oh stop it" in a similarly flamboyant way."

Ms Livingstone asked: "Slightly camp?" and he replied: "Slightly camp." He was asked if there was anything he did that he considered to be sexual and said "no".

The court was told he "mimicked" what she did to him. Days later he was advised the police would want to speak to him, and contacted them and made arrangements to talk to them.

Under cross-examination by procurator fiscal depute Stuart Fauré he denied that the touch was a "crude medical examination". It was put to him: "You saw her as a person of ridicule" but Mr Hughes said: "No, that’s not true."