Soames: We Need To Root Out Online Abuse

23 July 2016, 16:33 | Updated: 13 September 2016, 14:50

Sir Nicholas Soames delivered a furious call for the political establishment to root out the plague of online abuse fuelled by the rise of social media.

The Tory MP, who is Winston Churchill’s grandson, told Andrew Castle that the shocking abuse directed against many MPs needs to be rooted out.

"We need to make sure that everyone from the broadcasters makes it absolutely plain that this is not acceptable in the public discourse of this country.

"We need we just need to make clear this is not something that is clever or funny or brave or bold or making any real contribution to the a battle of ideas.

"We are now open to this vast new world of social media and it attracts a very unattractive bullying thing. He who shouts most can get his or her way - I think that is absolutely devastating."

"I don't think it's any way to run a country run. I think it makes government very difficult, it makes rational thought and trying to think things through and be sensible and orderly in the way we do things difficult.

"I think it's got very little to add to our public life."