Police have installed alarms and panic buttons at the home of an SNP MP after she and her family received death threats.
Former NHS consultant Dr Lisa Cameron said the threats began the day after she was elected at the 2015 General Election.
The MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow claimed they included images of beheaded corpses and wording cut out from newspapers sent through the post.
Police have also upped security at the MP’s constituency office in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire.
Dr Cameron spoke out about the threats as it was revealed a police team set up to handle crimes against MPs has dealt with 53 complaints since the murder of English MP Jo Cox last June.
The SNP MP told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme: “I went from being a doctor in the local community where I was well respected and would never have received this type of threat online or via mail to having received death threats where images of beheaded corpses were sent to me, with threats towards myself and my children and family’s lives.
“Someone had put together a letter from newspaper word cuttings and sent it to me, also threatening to harm me and my family.
“The security measures are a step in the right direction, and following the election and having come from the NHS and having seen the level of security and staff safety policy there I was shocked MPs at that stage had very little in terms of risk management procedures in place.
“I can say that it [the threats] did happen almost instantaneously from moving from one career to the next and that was the defining change I experienced.
“It was almost like I was fair game and my children and family were then fair game too, which I think isn’t right.
“The police have been out to the constituency office and installed alarms at my home and also some panic buttons.
“I had moved to the countryside to have my family so that I wouldn’t need these procedures, but I do think we need to take appropriate risk management seriously now.”
Before becoming an MP, she worked with patients with mental health problems and learning difficulties.
Dr Cameron has also been an expert witness in the Scottish court system, working in cases of childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence.
The specialist police squad has received 33 reports of malicious communications – which can include Twitter trolling – as well as 13 reports of theft, four allegations of criminal damage and three reports of harassment.
Almost £640,000 has been spent on MPs’ security since Mrs Cox’s death last June.
Dr Cameron said she had considered her future as an MP.
She added: “I think you always have to take account of the impact on your family.
“I’ve put myself in public life and I didn’t want to have a negative impact on them.
“However, I grew up in the constituency that I represent and it is a very real privilege to represent them and to do my very best for them.
“So I am hoping with appropriate risk management measures in place we can all feel much more secure.”
