Brexit abuse: Swansea MP Carolyn Harris considered quitting

An MP has considered quitting politics over the abuse she has received.

Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris said she has turned to counselling to deal with the increasing threats as well as the long hours caused by Brexit debates.

"I've sat down and cried and thought... this is ridiculous, I can't do this anymore," she said.

UK Police chiefs have said the abuse of politicians and staff has reached "unprecedented levels" since the referendum.

Police recorded 342 threats against MPs in 2018 - up 126% from the previous year.

Already in the first four months of 2019, more than 150 crimes - and more than 600 reports of abuse or intimidation - against MPs or their staff have been reported.

South Wales Police has investigated 15 such incidents against local MPs since April.

Mrs Harris, deputy leader of Welsh Labour, said abuse from both sides of the Brexit divide had made her "lose faith in humanity".

"You've got people saying I'm a traitor because I'm not supporting Brexit and then you've got remainers saying I'm facilitating a Tory Brexit," she said.

"I got into a taxi recently and the driver knew exactly who I was and said all MPs should be shot."

The abuse is even worse online, she said.

"'Send her to the guillotine'. 'Tar and feather her'. 'Commie cow. Fat bitch'. And so it goes on… It makes you lose faith in humanity."

Police have warned MPs and campaigners not to inflame tensions amid increased concern about intimidation of politicians.

Mrs Harris's office has also introduced new security measures, including CCTV, alarms and panic buttons, and only holds public surgeries if police are present.

"The police come most days to check on me and my family's welfare," she said.

"If I go anywhere, I have to tell the police where I'm going so they can make sure I'm OK.

"Swansea police have been brilliant but surely they have more important things to do than babysit me.

"I've had counselling and turned it around in my head to turn this negative into a positive. But it's taken me a while to get back to any kind of normality."

Simon Hart, Conservative MP for Carmarthenshire West and South Pembrokeshire, has also received abuse online.

He is a member of the Committee for Standards in Public Life, which has recommended a new offence of intimidation, to protect political candidates and campaigners.

"Even though [the explicit language] might be shocking for some people it doesn't, probably, cross a line," he said.

"The stuff which says 'PS I know where you live' or "'I know where your kids are at school' - that's very different. The moment there is even a suggestion that there might be more than just a letting off of steam, then the police will be involved."

The UK government is considering making social media companies more responsible for their users' safety and for tackling harm caused by content on their services.

"Until now the attitude has been 'nothing to do with us. We're just a platform'," said Mr Hart.

"But these platforms are realising if they don't do [something], we will do it. So they have to take this seriously."

South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Alun Michael said the rise in abuse and level of threat was becoming a "threat to democracy".

"It's enormously difficult for the police because of the activity online, the volume of it, the noise and the sound and the exchanges," he said.

"The danger is that extreme language leads to real violence, and incidents like the murder of Jo Cox."

Katy Minshall, head of public policy for Twitter UK, said: "We are acutely aware of our responsibility and have come a long way. We are not where we want to be yet..."

Ms Minshall said they will tackle the abuse of MPs through engagement with the Parliamentary Security Department of the Houses of Parliament, introducing internal processes for identifying abusive messages, and offering training on the safety features of Twitter.

A Facebook spokesman said: "We recognise that intimidation of public figures online is a real challenge which is why our team provides a range of support to MPs to help keep them safe online.

"As a global platform, we work hard to strike a balance between allowing free speech and keeping people safe. A small number of the comments shared have been removed for breaking our community standards."

Mrs Harris said politicians "understand the [public's] frustration".

But she added: "Giving us grief, calling us names, criticising us continually is not helping us to make good decisions and actually do the work as best as we possibly can."

Wales Live is on BBC One Wales at 22:35 BST on Wednesday - or watch again on the BBC iPlayer.