OLDHAM East and Saddleworth MP Debbie Abrahams has united with football stars in calling for stronger action against those who abuse people on social media.

The Labour politician has backed former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, a World Cup winner, and England and Manchester City star Lucy Bronze in demanding changes online.

Sports stars are subjected to threats and abuse, including racist comments, on social media platforms, often by users with anonymous accounts.

Henry has faced racist abuse online and quit social media in March, while Bronze has been subjected to sexist abuse.

Ms Abrahams and sports stars want the government to limit the reach and power of anonymous accounts.

She spoke to the footballers in a virtual event in Parliament to discuss online discriminatory abuse.

Ms Abrahams, co-chair of the All-Party Group for Compassionate Politics, said: “Anonymous abuse is ruining lives and wrecking our democracy.

“For that reason, and like so many MPs, I was deeply disappointed that the government’s draft Online Safety Bill makes no reference to curtailing the number or reach of anonymous accounts.

“This is despite the fact that anonymous accounts are the source of most of the violently abusive, factually inaccurate, and outright illegal material online.

"It is despite the fact that public figures like Thierry and Lucy have told us time and again that most of the abuse they receive comes from anonymous accounts.

“An Online Safety Bill that fails to deal with anonymity will not be worthy of the name.

“That is why I will be working with my colleagues across the House to ensure that, in its final form, this bill legislates for a twin-track verification system on social media.

“We must give users the power to filter out abusive content. We must end the spread of misinformation at source. We must stop the hate.”

Henry recounted the disgusting messages he has received and said that the problem of abuse being directed against footballers is widespread and that many footballers at all levels of the game, and their families, suffer from mental health issues as a result.

He said: “On social media platforms it seems you can say whatever you want and there are no real consequences.

"This needs to change and people need to be held accountable.

"There is attention on this topic, but we still have some way to go. I don’t want my kids to go through abuse, my family, friends or indeed anyone to experience any kind of online abuse.”

Bronze described the huge quantity of sexist abuse she has been subjected to.

She said: “Every day of my life I experience sexism on social media, and I play with a lot of players who experience all types of online abuse.

"I’m aware of victims who have been blocked from reporting their experiences to social media platforms, if they reach a limit on reporting.

"Right now, we punish the victim but not the abusers. There has to be a way to hold people accountable and it’s time something was done.

"That's why it was so important for me to take part in the event and share my experiences, so that change can happen quickly.”

Edleen John from the FA said: “Online abuse has a lasting psychological impact not just on those who receive it, but on their friends and family too.

"In our discussion, with Thierry and Lucy, we heard first-hand about the need for change and the current failings of social media organisations.

"These two household names shared the current onus on victims, whereas abusers can operate within a culture of impunity and without real-world consequences.

"This has to stop and social media companies have a moral obligation to do more to tackle this endemic issue.

"We welcome this open dialogue with parliamentarians and want to continue to work with them to ensure that that there is support for a strong Online Safety Bill which effectively tackles the key issues at hand.

"We also urge social media companies to act now as oppose to waiting for that legislation.”

Polling by Opinium for Compassion in Politics found that interventions to tackle anonymous accounts are widely popular.

A total of 81 per cent said they would be willing to provide a piece of personal ID to gain a “verified” account, if that meant reducing the number of unverified profiles.

And 72 per cent also said they would choose to filter out all anonymous accounts if they had the option to do so.

In response, a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport spokeswoman said: "There is no place for racist abuse online and too many people are falling victim to trolls who hide behind anonymous profiles.

"Our world-leading Online Safety Bill will set a global standard for safety online.

"It will force social media companies to stamp out illegal and harmful activity on their services, including anonymous abuse, or face tough fines."