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The abusive messages sent to Tory MP Louise Mensch on Twitter could be illegal, a senior police officer has said.
On Wednesday Mensch has hit back at the "misogynistic and bullying" messages she has received on the social networking site.
The Corby MP exposed abusive messages she was sent after the Commons culture committee published their report into News International and phone hacking.
Messages have included suggestions that she should star as one of the The Sun's 'Page 3' girls, and other more obscene remarks.
She said she exposed these messages on Twitter "to show what abuse people are capable of behind safety of screens".
Mensch added that many women have been "shamed into silence" by the abuse they receive online.
@LouiseMensch
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mensch said "abuse directed at women is always sexual or violent.
"If somebody is considered attractive, it's a sexual and violent fantasy levelled against them. If someone is considered unattractive, it's personal remarks about their body," she said.
She added: "The stuff directed at me was not illegal, it was just immoral and misogynistic."
"It's the fault of the users, they have to be responsible for their own words and what they say."
Explaining why she had collated the messages for others to see, she said: "It really is just a matter of calling bullies out. I also just want to say it's not Twitter's fault, Twitter provides a social media platform.
Cumbria Police chief constable Stuart Hyde, who has national responsibility with the Association of Chief Police Officers for e-crime, said: "I have read the comments made about Louise and it is sexist bigotry at its worst."
Some of the comments were "pretty horrendous" and could be illegal, he said.
"There is quite a bit of legislation available to us - the Communications Act 2003, the Malicious Communications Act back in 1988 talks about offences of communications with an intent to cause distress, anxiety or are grossly offensive.
"And clearly some of this is either in or very close to that border."
However The Huffington Post understands that the culprits would not face prosecution unless Mensch formally made a complaint to the police.
This is not the first time Mensch has received rough treatment from users of social media. Last month, Frank Zimmerman was convicted for sending a threatening email to Mensch.
There has been an increased focus on bullying on social media recently. Liam Stacey was imprisoned for tweeting racist messages about the football player Fabrice Muamba. Another football player, Stan Collymore, has complained about racist messages on Twitter.
Mensch has received a lot of support for exposing the abuse sent her way:
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Posted: 03/05/2012 10:40 Updated: 03/05/2012 14:16