Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has said he has been warned of another death threat.

The Louth TD claimed he was told by officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) a threat had been made against him and other senior Sinn Féin figures by someone purporting to speak for the outlawed loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF).

Mr Adams used his Twitter account to break the news.

On Saturday night he tweeted: “Just been told by PSNI of death threat against me & SF leadership by someone claiming 2 speak 4 UFF.”

Speaking on Sunday morning Deputy Adams said: “The PSNI contacted me last night to make me aware of a death threat against me and the Sinn Féin leadership.

“This is a worrying development but it will not deter me or Sinn Féin from moving forward with our campaign for a new, independent Ireland of equals.”

Earlier this week, Mr Adams, 65, was forced to apologise for using offensive language to describe some unionists during a public meeting in Northern Ireland.

He used the term “bastards” while answering a question at a gathering in Co Fermanagh but insisted it was aimed at bigots.

In May, he was told there was a “credible” threat against his life after his release from police custody where he had been questioned about the murder of Belfast mother Jean McConville in 1972 and other alleged links to the IRA.

He blamed opponents of the peace process for the threat which was passed to members of his family while he was detained at Antrim police station for four days.