Katie Price takes online abuse fight to MPs

Katie Price is to appear in Parliament later to call on MPs to make online abuse a criminal offence.

The reality TV star and model also wants to see the creation of a register of offenders.

Her 15-year-old son Harvey - who is partially blind, autistic and has Prader-Willi syndrome - has been targeted on social media.

MPs launched an inquiry into online abuse after a petition started by Ms Price was backed by 200,000 people.

It is possible to prosecute people who send abusive or threatening messages on social media under existing laws.

But campaigners say these laws were created before the internet was invented and need to be updated.

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Ms Price, who is appearing before the Commons Petitions Committee, says she wants to introduce legislation called Harvey's Law to give people extra protection.

She said of her son's experiences: "Harvey was getting racial abuse, they were mocking him ... putting him on t-shirts, and he's got complex special needs - I've got five children but they always pick on him."

"He cannot speak for himself but I can," she told the BBC's Daily Politics.

"I have two had people arrested by the police - they took it as far as they could but they could not charge them with anything because there is absolutely nothing in place.

"So I thought, I am going to do something about this."

She said freedom of speech was important but there had to be a line and it was not just people with disabilities who needed protection, "it could be anyone".

“I am going to fight as much as I can to get online abuse a criminal offence," she said and added that she was counting on MPs to "put a case together, and believe in me, and take it to the next step so it is a discussion in government".

The Petitions Committee is looking at the impact of online abuse - particularly on people with disabilities - responsibility for protection, whether technology companies are doing enough.

It is also examining whether the law needs to be changed, how to define online abuse and what support is given to victims.