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A MUSLIM MP has said the "sickening filth and vitriolic abuse" she has faced since being elected has brought her to tears.

The SNP's Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh said she had faced racist emails and threatening letters over the past 14 months.

She said: "What has sometimes taken my breath away, shocked my family and reduced me to tears is the vitriolic, hateful and sometimes criminal levels of personal abuse that I and indeed colleagues across this House have faced.

"I have received hateful handwritten letters which contain sexual slurs, phone calls to my office threatening violence to my staff and I, and racist emails speaking about what people want to do to people like me who are Muslims."

The Ochil and South Perthshire MP added: "In the past 14 months I have been called a Nazi, received messages which have called for me to be shot as a traitor, read in tears as strangers have attacked my father who passed away two years ago.

"My husband sees these messages. My children read this garbage. My staff are required to wade through this sickening filth each day to get to the important information they need to do their jobs."

She urged victims outside politics to report online abuse, adding: "We stand with you, we know how it feels."

She called for clarity over when online threats and harassment become a crime as she urged the likes of Twitter and Facebook to do more.

"Social media and publishing platforms must accept this serious issue and take steps to address it," she said.

"We are entitled to expect more from Facebook and Twitter in their handling of these issues."