Deluge of abuse sent on X to prominent UK politicians in election period

Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, Diane Abbott, Suella Braverman and Sadiq Khan received between them 85,000 abusive messages, study finds

The UK's most prominent politicians were subjected to a deluge of abuse on X during the general election period, one of the most comprehensive studies of online abuse in politics has found.

Five politicians - Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, Diane Abbott, Suella Braverman and Sadiq Khan - were, between them, sent more than 85,000 clearly abusive messages between 1 May and 30 July, according to the findings from researchers at the University of Sheffield.