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A would-be Liberal Democrat MP today called in police after being threatened with beheading for posting a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed on the internet.

Supporters of Maajid Nawaz said the parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn received five explicit death threats and 20 further insinuated threats.

Mr Nawaz, founder of anti-extremism think tank the Quilliam Foundation, sparked a storm after posting the cartoon on Twitter last week showing Jesus saying “hey” to Mohammed, who replies “how ya doin’?”.

He said he wanted to show that not all Muslims were offended by “bland” depictions of the prophet.

A Lib-Dem spokesperson said the party “urged all candidates to be sensitive to cultural and religious feelings”.