The Home Secretary has not ruled out banning anonymity on social media as part of efforts to tackle online abuse, particularly in politics.

It comes after the alleged killing of Conservative MP Sir David Amess which has shocked the country.

Amess, 69, who had been an MP since 1983, was meeting constituents at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea on Friday afternoon when he was stabbed multiple times in a frenzied attack.

Asked on Sky News’ Trevor Phillips On Sunday programme whether she would consider legislation to remove the right to anonymity on social media, Priti Patel said: “I want us to look at everything.

READ MORE: Review of MP and MSP security after murder of Sir David Amess

“There is work taking place already. We have an Online Harms Bill that will come to Parliament, there is working taking place on it right now.

“I’ve done a lot of work on social media platforms, mainly around encryption and areas of that nature.

“But we can’t carry on like this. I spend too much time with communities who have been under attack, basically who have had all sorts of postings online and it is a struggle to get those posts taken down.

“We want to make some big changes on that.”

Patel also said MPs were being asked to share their whereabouts with police as part of increasing their security.

She said: “MPs have already been contacted by their local police forces, so that’s 600-plus MPs, around what are they doing, sharing information with police so police know where they are, checking their actual physical security.

“These are all the practical measures, basically.

“These are the one-on-one conversations that are taking place, and rightly so.

“But with that, we are making sure that Members of Parliament have the confidence to go around in their constituencies and having that advice from police and security about how to keep themselves safe.”

The Home Secretary has said the Prevent programme is being reviewed to ensure it is fit for purpose.

She added: “Prevent is going through an independent review right now. It’s timely to do that, we have to learn, we obviously constantly have to learn, not just from incidences that have taken place but how we can strengthen our programmes.”

She continued: “We want to ensure that it is fit for purpose, robust, doing the right thing. But importantly learning lessons, always building upon what is working and addressing any gaps or issues where the system needs strengthening.”

With an annual budget of around £40 million, the Prevent scheme aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

It was launched after public bodies were placed under a statutory duty in 2015 to stop people being drawn into terrorism.

Patel continued: “In terms of your immediate point around safety and security of individuals, there is a lot of work that has taken place already,” the Cabinet minister said.

“There is more work under way on Friday, yesterday, today and going forward with policing in constituencies but also with the parliamentary authorities around security of MPs.

“That is absolutely geared up, and I should emphasise this, around looking at this weekend, Members of Parliament are in their constituencies, next weekend they will be doing the same, out and about, and alongside that what are the protective measures we can put in immediately?

“This isn’t a case of, ‘let’s wait for two, three, four weeks’. These are immediate changes and measures that are actively being put in place and discussed with MPs.”

The Home Secretary said the Speaker of the House of Commons has “already put in a range of measures” to safeguard MPs.

She said the Speaker “has already put in a range of measures post-Friday, as we have with policing, but within that there are other options that are being considered, such as when you hold your surgeries could you have officers or some kind of protection while you’re holding you surgery?

“Now it’s not for me to determine the mechanism for that right now but there are discussions under way right now looking at a whole spectrum. That’s only one example, and there are others as well that are actively under consideration right now.”

Asked if she would consider airport-style security, Patel said: “That would be with the police and the House authorities. There are lots of things under considerration already.”

Patel also said she did not believe the murder of Sir David Amess should change the relationship between MPs and their constituencies.

She said many MPs would be “reflecting” upon their own constituency interactions and safety this weekend.

“My own view is no,” she said. “I’ve been a member of parliament for just over 10 years and we are part of the fabric, the DNA of society, our democracy, freedom, the chance for people to engage with us.

“But what I would say is that a lot has changed.”

Patel said the murder of Jo Cox was an “intensive period” for MPs when it came to thinking about their own safety, adding: “We have all changed our ways of working because of changing concerns, threats in society.”

But she added: “This should never ever break that link between an elected representative and their democratic role, responsibility and duty to the people who elected them.”