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An MP who confronted Boris Johnson and urged him to tone down his language has been told "I cannot wait to see you hanging from a lamppost" in a vile death threat.

Paula Sherriff shared the sick message with the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire after receiving five death threats in a week after her clash with the PM.

The Labour MP for Dewsbury said she has received five death threats, two visits from police and more than 1,000 abusive messages.

Labour said Ms Sherriff became a target after she confronted Boris Johnson for calling a bid to delay Brexit for three months the 'Surrender Act'.

She told him in the Commons last week: "Many of us in this place [are] subject to death threats and abuse every single day!

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

"And let me tell the Prime Minister - they often quote his words! Surrender act. Betrayal. Traitor. And I for one am sick of it. We must moderate our language - and it has to come from the Prime Minister first. He should be absolutely ashamed of himself!"

Yet Mr Johnson replied casually: "I've never heard such humbug in all my life."

He added: "[The Act] would absolutely undermine our ability to continue to negotiate properly in Brussels; it takes away the fundamental ability of a country to walk away from the negotiations, and I am afraid that is exactly what it does."

Yesterday Labour's Diane Abbott said Ms Sherriff had received four death threats since the exchange. Today, Ms Derbyshire said that number had risen to five.

The BBC presenter posted screenshots of messages to the Dewsbury MP, shared with her permission.

One said: "Your [sic] a joke and should not be sitting in that house we do not want you or any labour member in that house the people will act soon and I can not wait to see you hanging from a lamppost you deserve it and more".

A second message said: "I've just seen on the news that someone wants to rape you he must be a very desperate man."

A third message called her a "fat b******" and said "my hero Nigel Farages Brexit party will win a big majority to drain the swamp of all you b***** remainer traitors."

(Image: PA)

A fourth attacked her "faux moral concerns" and said: "If you are having death threats I suggest you avoid KFC, McDs and Pork Pies because you will need to lose some wieght [sic] if those threats do come to fruition, you will need to be a bit light footed. Have a nice day."

Grilled on his comments over the weekend, the PM twice refused to apologise for his use of the word humbug.

Instead he said: "My use of the word humbug was in the context of people trying to prevent me - us - from using the word 'surrender'."

He said if people thought he was referring to abuse against MPs, "that was a total misunderstanding and that was wrong."