Part of a Scottish town centre has been cordoned off this afternoon after a suspicious package was delivered to the office of an SNP MP.

Officers received reports of the item being sent to Douglas Chapman’s Dunfermline and West Fife constituency office.

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: “Police in Fife were called to a premises on Douglas Street in Dunfermline around 1.50pm on Thursday, May 4, following the delivery of a suspicious package.

“The building and surrounding premises have been evacuated as a precaution and a cordon is in place to ensure the safety of the public while the item is assessed.”

A SNP spokesman said: “We do not comment on security issues.”

The incident is the fourth of its kind in recent weeks following a letter with an alleged anthrax threat being sent to an address in Forfar last week.

The letter claimed that the package contained spores of the deadly substance and carried the message: “Get SNP out. Tories in”.

In March, a pub in Keith was locked down after a package was sent containing white powder and a note claiming to be from the ‘UK IS Support Group’.

The bizarre note reportedly read: “Please please support your MP SNP Angus Robertson and our sister vocal and financial supporter Gina Miller to stay in the EU as we have many more of our brothers and sisters wanting to join our brothers and sister in Glasgow with your help and our sympathetic the leader N Sturgeon and you we can be a Muslim state in the next 30 years.

“So please keep the door open via the EU. May Allah be with you all.”