FOYLE SDLP MLA Sinéad McLaughlin and her staff have been forced to evacuate their office in Derry following claims of a threat against her.
Ms McLaughlin and staff based at their Spencer Road constituency office were told to leave the building by police yesterday afternoon.
A party spokesperson said a report had been made of a bomb at the premises.
Police officers remained at the scene into the evening, a PSNI spokesperson said, adding last night: "There are no further details at this time."
The threat has been condemned as a "despicable attempt to intimidate and stop a tireless public representative from doing their job" by SDLP leader Colum Eastwood.
He said yesterday: "I know Sinéad will not be deterred and my thoughts are with her and her constituency team after what must have been a frightening experience. The entire SDLP stands fully behind them in solidarity.
"Elected representatives should be able to go about their duties without having to worry about threats being issued against them. We’ve seen recently in England how the targeting of politicians can end up with tragic consequences.
"Sinéad McLaughlin serves the people of Derry and neither she nor her staff should have been subjected to this ordeal."
Ms McLaughlin said the incident had been "very upsetting for my staff who come to work every day to help the people of this community with everything from passport applications to PIP appeals".
"Nobody should have to face this kind of threat when simply going about their job," she said.
"While it’s deeply unpleasant to be subjected to this, nothing will stop me from going about my work on behalf of the people of Derry. Whether in my career, as a councillor or an MLA I have often faced barriers, but I have always overcome them and it will take more than the efforts of a few idiotic thugs to stop me from working to represent and improve the lives of people here."
