The mother-of-five has urged the Government to make online abuse a specific criminal offence, as she told of "the most horrific things" aimed at her 15-year-old son Harvey, who she described as an "easy target" due to his race, size and disabilities.

MPs launched an inquiry after her petition received over 200,000 signatures.

Chair of the Committee, Helen Jones MP said: "Katie Price’s petition has brought to Parliament an issue that has not been widely discussed – how online abuse affects people with disabilities and their families.

“The Government and Parliament are looking at how to tackle online abuse, and we’d like to ensure that the particular issues faced by disabled people are at the heart of those discussions.”

Amy Clarke, who has a learning disability and works in Mencap’s digital team, attended the evidence session at the Petitions Committee Hearing on Tuesday. She said: “As someone with a learning disability I think social media is a good thing. I feel I can be myself more online. I can be self-conscious when I meet someone new and speaking online can be easier.

“But people seem to be more aggressive and hurtful over what they say to you online. I have been called a retard and felt forced to leave groups online. I felt shocked and upset as I thought I was in a safe place.”

Mencap estimates that nine in ten people with a learning disability are verbally harassed or exposed to violence because of their disability.

Harvey, the eldest of Katie Price’s five children, is partially blind, autistic and has Prader-Willi syndrome; a rare genetic condition that causes learning difficulties, behavioral problems and physical symptoms such as weight gain.

Describing the impact of online abuse, Katie Price told MPs: “Trolling is a major problem in this day and age. People of all ages and background suffer every day, including my family - especially my son Harvey. I have tried my best to expose people and even had two arrested, but nothing was done and there were no repercussions or penalties for this behavior.

"How many times does someone have to keep on abusing you, before action is taken?

"You could get someone who's not as strong as myself. Harvey's had stuff saying, 'why don't you just die? Imagine if there's some young girl who's really vulnerable, and someone says, 'why don't you just die?'. And then they go and commit suicide. That's what I mean, it could just take that one abusive message."

According to Rob Holland, public affairs manager at Mencap, Katie Price “deserves credit for placing a spotlight on the issue.”

He added: “We hope that from hearing directly from disabled people, this Government Inquiry will lead to tougher deterrents on anyone who wishes to target and abuse someone online due to their disability.”

MPs will debate the petition and any recommendations later in the year.

For more information on the petition, go to: https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/190627