NORTHERN Ireland’s former first minister has spoken of her determination to tackle social media trolls, revealing some issued deaths threats to her as well as her children.

Arlene Foster is due to leave front-line politics completely and said she wants to use her experience to tackle online abuse.

She stepped down as First Minister and DUP leader earlier this year following an internal party coup against her.

“As politicians we have to be challenged and there has to be a space for debate, I’m not sure social media platforms is the best place for debate because it is so limited in terms of the space that you have to do that but it has become ... a place of hate, a place of abuse,” she said in an interview with Talk Radio.

Foster claims some Twitter accounts with very small numbers of followers had been set up to attack other users.

“I feel there is a real need to stamp that out because I actually think it prevents some young people from getting involved in politics and getting involved in public life, which is really regrettable, especially young women, and because of that I think there is a real need to deal with it,” she said.