Nigel Farage has been accused of dog-whistle threats after calling for voters to put the “fear of god” into MPs.
The ex-UKIP leader made the controversial comments when he was launching the EU election campaign of his newly founded Brexit Party.
Mr Farage said: “We can again start to put the fear of God into our MPs - they deserve nothing less after the way they treated us"
But some MPs reacted angrily to the comment, which follow a number of high profile cases of politicians facing abuse and harassment.
Labour MP David Lammy way branded the comment “disgraceful”.
In a tweet the Tottenham MP said: “I've received death threats against myself, my wife and my children for standing up to the far right politics of hate.
“I will never be cowed, but what a disgraceful way to behave in our democracy.
“Nigel Farage knows exactly what he's inciting with these dog whistle threats.”
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His anger was shared by Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Philips.
She said on Twitter : “You cannot scare me, you shouldn't try, why don't you try to build rather than break, it's harder, takes more time and intelligence granted, anyone can play fear peddling villain it's politics paint by numbers.
“Put away your finger paints, pick up a pen.”
Mr Farage made the comments at the launch of the party’s campaign in Coventry.
He said: “We are lions, led by donkeys
“This party is not here just to fight the European elections.
“This party is not just to express our anger - May 23 is the first step of the Brexit Party.
"We will change politics for good.
"Yes I'm angry but this is not a negative emotion, this is a positive emotion.
“I said I wanted to cause an earthquake in politics, but now we will achieve a democratic revolution in politics."
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He said the party, which has raised £950,000, would field “the most impressive list of candidates any political party has put before the British public in history”.
Of the cash raised £750,000 came from small donations and £200,000 from an unidentified donor, a party spokesman claimed.
The Brexit Party will stand in 70 seats in all regions up for election, except Northern Ireland.
Asked if it would split the vote with his former party UKIP Mr Farage went on the offensive.
Describing the party as containing a “loutish fringe“ he said people wouldn’t vote for “a party that is linked to violence, criminal records and thuggery”.
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He promised the Brexit Party would be "deeply intolerant of all intolerance" and would represent a cross-section of society.
Just last month the original leader of The Brexit Party, Catherine Blaiklock quit following after numerous Islamophobic statements and extensive retweeting of far-right figures – including a neo-Nazi – was found on her Twitter feed.
Anti-racism charity HOPE not Hate said: “Given Farage’s track record of inflammatory and divisive comments, we’ll be watching him very, very closely.”
