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Labour MP Wes Streeting has hit out at the “cesspit” that is Twitter and said he will no longer engage with most people on the site.

The Ilford North MP posted a lengthy statement lamenting the loss of Twitter as a “platform for debating ideas” due to the high number of trolls.

He said he is changing his notifications settings for the social media giant because it has become an “angry swamp”.

The politician, who has criticised Jeremy Corbyn over anti-Semitism within the Labour party, said: “When I joined Twitter in my mid-twenties, I enjoyed it as a platform for debating ideas liver-tweeting during X Factor and sharing what I was up to – from the interesting to the mundane.

“Unfortunately, Twitter has increasingly become an angry swamp to the extent that its utility is outweighed by the negativity.

“I knock on thousands of doors in my constituency throughout the year and, with one or two exceptions, I never encounter the sort of behaviour seen all too frequently here.”

He continued: “So I’ve resolved to spend more time with people and less time in this cesspit.

“For my favourite trolls, do feel free to keep in touch, but my notifications means you’ll be screaming into a void. Carry on to your heart’s content.”

The MP advised his constituents that the best way to get in contact is via email or by a phone call to his constituency office.

In March this year, Mr Streeting claimed he and his colleagues had received a “torrent of abuse” after attending a rally against anti-Semitism in the Labour party.

Online trolls, who claimed to be supporters of Labour and Jeremy Corbyn, bombarded Mr Streeting with messages accusing him of using anti-Semitism as a “political football” to “smear” the Labour leader.

The MP said he spent many hours responding to “countless” threats on Twitter over the rally.