Ann Travers online trolls identified for PSNI probe

Ms Travers revealed this week she was leaving Twitter due to a recent wave of abuse from republican trolls on the social media network.

The News Letter understands that one of the five identified behind the online attacks on Ms Travers is the widow of a republican murdered in an internecine feud as well as a female marketing executive from mid Ulster.

The abusive remarks included accusations she is exploiting the IRA murder of her sister Mary and acting as a “super victim”. Another has described Ms Travers as “the verrucca of humanity”.

Meanwhile, the Stormont justice minister Naomi Long has called for a forum to tackle the online abuse of politicians.

She highlighted the targeting of female politicians as a problem which needs to be specifically addressed.

Mrs Long made the proposals in a letter to the other Stormont parties.

Mrs Long and DUP MP Carla Lockhart are among politicians who have previously spoken out about being targeted online.

While legislation to tackle online abuse, the Online Safety Bill, is progressing through Westminster, Mrs Long said she wants experiences in Northern Ireland relayed to the Home Office.

She has asked all political parties to nominate two members who have been affected or can speak for those affected by such abuse.

She described the election campaign as “incredibly concerning” in terms of the traumatic impact on those targeted as well as a pattern of abuse of people in public life.

“I know from my own experience that having spoken to women who may have considered standing in the election, they were deterred from doing so because of the aggressive nature of politics, particularly the level of online abuse to which they see other women being subjected,” she told the BBC.

The Alliance leader added: “That deterred them from putting their names forward and I think that that is affecting our democratic process in a really negative way.

“So I think it’s important that we sit down, we look at the incidents that happened.” Five online trolls who have been abusing terrorist victims’ campaigner Ann Travers have been identified and reported to the PSNI, the News Letter has learnt.