Scottish Secretary David Mundell MP announces he is gay

Scottish Secretary David Mundell has announced he is gay.

The Conservative MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale said coming out publically was "one of the most important decisions of my life".

Mr Mundell, 53, said at times he thought the announcement would be "harder than standing for election", but in the end it "took just a couple of taps on a keyboard".

"Having taken one of the most important decisions of my life and resolved to come out publically as gay in 2016, I just want to get on with it, and now, just like that, I have said it," he said in a statement on his website. "How can it be both so easy and so hard to say a few short words?

"I still cannot fully rationalise such feelings, but I know they are not uncommon, particularly in men of my age.

"Over time, I came to understand that, for me, the only way to be truly happy on a personal level is to acknowledge in public as well as in private, who I am."

Mr Mundell said that he hoped coming out would not change anything about how people treat him or have any effect on his work.

"Gender and sexuality should make no difference whether you are a Cabinet Minister or in any other walk of life and I hope that I can, in my own way, reinforce that message," he said.

Mr Mundell was elected as an MP in 2005 and was appointed Secretary of State for Scotland in May 2015.

ITV News political correspondent Carl Dinnen said Mr Mundell was believed to be the first Conservative cabinet minister to come out while in office.