Leslie looks to the future

John Leslie said he had been "to hell and back" over sex charges

Lawyers for TV presenter John Leslie are considering their next move after he was cleared of two sex assault charges against him.

The legal team is preparing him a report on people believed to have brought his name into disrepute, said spokesman James Herring.

"Individuals, media organisations, newspapers and various people responsible for bringing him down, slandering or libelling him" were all in their sights, he said.

Mr Leslie's representatives added he is considering a £1m deal to front his own one-hour daily talk show on Sky One, although the channel has not confirmed this.

He's got to win the hearts and minds of the British public and that's going to be an uphill struggle PR guru Max Clifford Leslie offered £1m TV deal Leslie's battle to rebuild future

But others including PR guru Max Clifford said Mr Leslie would face a tough battle to rebuild his tarnished reputation.

"He's got to win the hearts and minds of the British public and that's going to be an uphill struggle," said Mr Clifford.

The former host of ITV's This Morning was cleared on Thursday of charges of attacking the same woman twice between 25 May and 28 May 1997.

The prosecution dropped the case after receiving unspecified "new information" from the woman which made prosecution impossible.

Mr Leslie was told he could leave the court "without a stain on his character".

He has sold his story to the Daily Express, which promises to tell it in several instalments over the coming days.

TV career

On Friday he said he had been trying to mentally prepare himself for the prospect of going to jail for a crime he did not commit.

And he told the paper he had been emotionally drained to the point of numbness by his ordeal.

The former star was supported by girlfriend, family and friends

"I know I should be feeling elated and happy. I know what's happened is good, it's positive, it's what I hoped for.

"Yet somehow I don't feel elated, or else I'm up and down," he said.

Outside Southwark Crown Court in London on Thursday, an emotional and relieved Mr Leslie said he had been to "hell and back" since he was first accused.

"I have maintained my innocence throughout and today it's been justified," he said.

We name people charged with paedophilia or murder. Why should rape be treated differently? Anonymity issue 'should be debated' Should the law change to prevent trial by media?

Flanked by his girlfriend Abby Titmuss and his parents, the 38-year-old said he and his family had always believed he would be cleared.

Visibly shaking, he said: "You've no idea what this has done and what today means."

He went on to thank his fans for their supportive letters.

The case reignited the debate over whether sex charge defendants should be given anonymity.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, the most senior judge in England and Wales, urged MPs to examine the possibility to prevent "trial by media".

Anonymity debate

Former shadow home secretary Ann Widdecombe argued there should be a "level playing field" for both defendants and complainants.

"It may be true that if the defendant is named people will then come forward who may otherwise have kept quiet," she told BBC News.

We always believed justice would prevail John Leslie

"But it is also true that if you have a woman who has a history of making allegations unless she is named that is not going to come out."

But the director of the London Metropolitan University Child and Women Abuse Studies Unit, Professor Liz Kelly, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme treating sexual offences differently from other crimes would send the "wrong message" that allegations in those cases were more likely to be false.

The Commons home affairs select committee has proposed those accused of sexual offences be given anonymity until they are charged.

Committee member Labour MP Gwyn Prosser told Today "the protection given to the victim" needed to be balanced by protection for the accused.

But he added: "On the other hand, we have got to look at the issue of free and open reporting.

If the man has been convicted, then of course he should be named - but if he has been acquitted, he clearly should not Lord Ackner

"People need to know what is going on in our criminal courts," Mr Prosser told Today.

The Lords has voted in favour of a proposal by Lord Ackner that defendants should remain anonymous until they are convicted.

Lord Ackner told Today to remove anonymity once a defendant had been charged would be "quite ridiculous".

"The point of charge is far too early," he told the programme. "The decision should be made after the verdict.

"If the man has been convicted, then of course he should be named - but if he has been acquitted, he clearly should not," Lord Ackner added.

Lengthy investigation

Mr Leslie was arrested on 5 December last year by detectives from Scotland Yard's Special Inquiry Team after voluntarily going to police when allegations of sexual assault were made.

He was charged on the advice of the CPS following a lengthy investigation.

A statement from Granada indicated he would not be offered his job on This Morning back.