Online trolls who torment election candidates could be banned from public office under abuse crackdown

Online trolls who torment election candidates could be banned from public office under new plans to crack down on vile abuse levelled at politicians.

MPs from all parties have spoken out about the barrage of hate-filled abuse they were subjected to on social media during the 2017 election campaign, including death threats, racist and misogynistic slurs.

Social media was found to be a significant driving factor in the harassment, abuse and intimidation towards candidates, which included violence, damage to property and threats of sexual violence towards many female MPs.

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott received half of all abusive tweets sent to female MPs during the run-up to the election, according to research that tracked more than 25,000 tweets sent to parliamentarians.

MPs have also faced streams of abuse over Brexit, with Tory rebels such as Anna Soubry receiving death threats for defying the government.

Labour’s Jess Phillips has said she received 600 death and rape threats in a single day, while Twitter trolls have been charged with abuse against Labour MPs Luciana Berger, Stella Creasy and Angela Eagle.

Under the plans, a new offence would target those convicted of “threatening or abusive behaviour” either in person or online, towards prospective MPs or campaigners working for them, closing a loophole in legislation.

Ministers would also look at beefing up measures to tackle so-called fake news by forcing digital communications to carry an imprint showing who is responsible, in line with rules around campaign materials.

Constitution minister Chloe Smith said: “This government recognises that rising intimidation in public life is stopping talented people from standing for election and putting voters off politics and we want to tackle this extremely serious issue.

“We are consulting on three new measures that will protect voters, candidates and campaigners so they can make their choice at the ballot box or stand for public service without fear of being victims of misinformation or abuse.

“We can’t let intimidation of our candidates, campaigners, the public and those that serve us continue unchecked and I would encourage everyone to take part in this consultation.”

Currently, extreme cases of intimidation are considered a serious criminal offence, punishable with a custodial sentence where evidence of sustained, pressurising behaviour intended to cause distress and impact campaigning is found.

It comes after the Committee on Standards in Public Life published a major report urging Theresa May to overhaul electoral law to make it an offence to harass campaigners and MPs, many of whom had already beefed up their security after the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016.

Welcoming the move, chairman Lord Bew said: “Intimidation presents a real threat to the integrity, diversity and vibrancy of our public life.

“People of all backgrounds should not be put off from standing for public office as a result of intimidatory behaviour.”

The consultation, which runs until late October, will also consider how to stop people having undue influence on voters, when voters ate threatened or influenced on how they cast their ballot.