Classicist Mary Beard sent Twitter bomb hoax threat

Television presenter Mary Beard has been sent a bomb threat on Twitter hours after the social messaging site's UK boss issued an apology to women who receive abusive tweets.

The classicist revealed the message on her Twitter page last night and said she had notified police, who logged the threat.

Professor Beard said the threatening tweet was similar to others sent to women in the public eye, including columnist Grace Dent, and proved to be a hoax.

She attempted to play down the threat later, tweeting: