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Lord Houchen reveals 'chainsaw' death threatspublished at 11:29

11:29

Michael WildEditor, BBC Politics North

We just brought you lines from Lord Houchen's appearance on Sky News - and the Tees Valley mayor has also been speaking to BBC Politics North.

Houchen tells us he has received a series of death threats but police "haven't done anything" about them.

"I've had people threatening to cut me up with a chainsaw," he says.

"I've had Special Branch knock on my door late at night because of a credible threat against my personal safety.

"My wife answers the door and is absolutely petrified about what might or might not happen. I mean this is something that is just unacceptable and...it's all driven by social media."

"I think the police need to be much firmer," he adds.

"I mean you can talk about free speech but ultimately, if we want a democracy where people are able to share different ideas in a civil manner, we need to have enforcement.

"So for example, when I was getting death threats - police haven't done anything about it. Nobody's been arrested."

We have approached Cleveland Police for comment.

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