MPs from the troubled Bulgarian far-right Ataka (Attack) party and some of their former colleagues who left the parliamentary group to become "independent", have apparently engaged in a text message war.

Petar Hlebarov, one of the renegade MPs, complained on Friday that Ataka's deputy leader Desislav Chukolov has sent him a "repulsive" text message.

In an interview for the bTV private channel, Hlebarov further denied the claims made by the party's controversial leader Volen Siderov that he was stealing from the party's safe.

Later on Friday, Chukolov denied Hlebarov's claims that he has sent him vulgar text messages to him and other MPs. The nationalist party's deputy leader went further to state that another renegade MP, Borislav Stoyanov, threatened to murder him in a text message he sent him on Christmas.

"I also received a phone call at around 4:30 am in which he threatened to kill me," Chukolov has added, as cited by dariknews.bg.

Initially, Ataka's parliamentary group consisted of 19 MPs, but a number of dissents left it with just 10 lawmakers, which is the bare minimum. Any further similar move would lead to its break-up. Siderov has repeatedly stated that the MPs who left the parliamentary group have been "bought" by the ruling centrist-right GERB.

Ataka has also recently been stirred by what can be described as a family drama.

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