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Chris Grayling Trolling

Trolls will face up to 2 years in jail for being ‘cowards who are poisoning our national life’, says justice secretary Chris Grayling

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By Ishbel Macleod | PR and social media consultant

October 19, 2014 | 2 min read

Justice secretary Chris Grayling has promised tougher sentences for trolls who make life an "absolute misery for victims".

Chloe Madeley

Chloe Madeley: trolling is "online terrorism"

Grayling made the comments to the Mail on Sunday shortly after model Chloe Madeley received rape threats on Twitter following controversial comments made by her mother, Judy Finnigan, about how footballer and convicted rapist Ched Evans should be able to return to work after he had served his sentence because the rape was not ‘violent’.

Father Richard Madeley said he has taken a note of all the threats made and has handed these to the police. Twitter has suspended accounts over the matter.

Chloe Madeley said of trolling: "It should be seen as online terrorism and it should be illegal."

Describing the attack on the model as “terrible”, Grayling added: "We already have offences in place to deal with this appalling behaviour, but we've toughened up the law to make sure these crimes can be properly investigated and those who commit the most serious offences face a longer prison sentence."

Currently, trolling cases are handled under the Malicious Communications Act in the magistrates courts, and have a maximum sentence of six months.

Grayling added that trolls are "cowards who are poisoning our national life".

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