THE internet has made rational debate and discussion a thing of the past. Judy Finnigan’s daughter Chloe has received threats of rape on Twitter following Judy’s comments on ITV’s Loose Women about the Ched Evans case. Evans is the Sheffield United footballer jailed for five years for rape in 2012 and due to be released imminently after serving more than two years. He has maintained his innocence throughout.

The debate on Loose Women was about whether Evans should get his old job back at Sheffield United, after an online petition calling for the club not to take him back attracted more than 140,000 signatures.

But the subject of the debate changed after the edition of Loose Women last week when Judy made her debut appearance on the panel and described the rape, of a 19-year-old in a hotel room, as “not violent”. Judy immediately apologised for her choice of words after all hell was let loose on the internet. Many people, of course, made valid comments, but out came the trolls, too, with their vile words and vile threats.

It’s the kind of mob mentality that in the past saw people turn out to enjoy a public hanging. Sadly, it has returned with a vengeance, because the internet has enabled it. It stifles constructive debate, and let’s face it, the issue of rape and whether there are degrees of seriousness is a debate we need to have as a society. A society where people are afraid to express an opinion because they fear the consequences is not one that I want to live in.

I’m glad Chloe Madeley and her father Richard reported the threats to the police and I hope the trolls are outed and prosecuted.