A BOLTON MEP says he has been forced to hire his own private security after attracting hate mail.

Sajjad Karim, who represents the town in the European Parliament, was bombarded with emails calling him “muslim scum” and telling him to “go home” hours after the BNP website published an article criticising his stance on halal meat.

Now the Conservative MEP says the tone of the emails have put him in fear that he could be attacked.

And he is worried about the safety of his family while he is away in Europe.

He believes the emails have come from BNP sympathisers.

Mr Karim said: “Earlier this year after another run-in with the BNP my wife and I returned home to find ‘BNP’ daubed outside our house.

“I spend most of the week working in Brussels or Strasbourg away from my wife and children but after these latest emails, I thought twice about going back. I have had to hire a private security firm to watch over them while I am away because I really am that worried. In the end I decided I will not let them defeat me. But it is costing me a fortune just to have piece of mind.”

Mr Karim, who has two children aged eight and 10, and lives in Simonstone, near Burnley, says the article appeared on the BNP website after he voted against moves to label halal and kosher meat.

He explained: “There is a perfectly reasonable argument for labelling the meat that is killed ritually and there is an argument against that too. Some MEPs are on one side and some are on the other. I certainly don’t think being on one side warrants the sort of abuse I’ve been getting.”

And it also followed a request he made for an EU anti-fraud unit to look into alleged financial irregularities and wrongful use of EU funds by the BNP.

Mr Karim has spoken to both Lancashire Police and GMP about his fears.

He added: “Lancashire police are providing some level of observation at my house just to make sure things are OK but I have had to get 24-hour security to monitor the premises as a direct result of these emails.

“When people are saying 'you're pure muslim scum and we don’t want you in our country' you don't know what these people are capable of.”

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: “We have received an allegation of racist abuse by email and it is currently being investigated.”

Despite The Bolton News making repeated attempts to contact the offices of the BNP yesterday, no-one from the party was able to respond to the allegations.