Election abuse of candidates may have been coordinated – adviser

In the letter, seen by the BBC, Lord Walney said evidence from the last couple of months points to a “concerted campaign by extremists to create a hostile atmosphere for MPs within their constituencies to compel them to cave into political demands”.

He writes the “conduct of the election campaign in many communities has underlined the gravity of the threat to our democracy” from the abuse and intimidation of politicians, local and national.

Lord Walney said: “I am increasingly concerned about the scale of intimidation against candidates in the general election.

“I believe there is now a need for a focused piece of work on the scale and drivers of this intimidation so that it cannot continue to mar our democratic processes and put candidates at risk.”