MPs have called for new rules to protect UK elections and referendums from the influence of "dirty money and dodgy data misuse".

A report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Electoral Campaigning Transparency states that British elections are "wide open to abuse".

The group says that electoral law has not been properly updated since 2001, when the internet had far less influence than it does today.

The study calls for the setting up of an Office for Election Integrity aimed at "stopping rule-breakers slipping through the regulatory gaps".

The APPG wants to abolish the cap on fines for breaching electoral law.

Moves need to be made to "close foreign donor loopholes", MPs say by ensuring all donations have to be UK-based.

The report also calls for the ability of campaigns to micro-target voters to be moderated.

And the group wants to give the Electoral Commission the ability to launch prosecutions.

Labour MP and chairman of the APPG Stephen Kinnock said: "The outdated nature of UK election law has pitched us into a battle for the very soul of our democracy.

"Facebook and other digital giants now play a hugely significant role in our elections and referendums, but most of the current legislation was created before the phrase 'social media' even existed.

"It was in 2018 that the cracks in our democratic processes really started to show, when former chief executive of the Electoral Commission, Claire Bassett, told the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee the current maximum per-offence fine of £20,000 was - for political actors - no more than 'a cost of doing business'.

"Now, nearly four years on from the EU referendum, absolutely nothing has been done to protect our system from dodgy money and dirty data.

"That's why our new report is so important. The APPG's 20 recommendations across the areas of transparency, monitoring and deterrence set out - for the first time in a generation - what changes need to be made to ensure the rules governing our elections are fit for the digital age.

"It is all too easy for politicians to watch from the sidelines, but now is the time for Parliament to show leadership.

"Now is the time to reform the rules, strengthen our institutions and restore trust in our democracy."

Green MP and vice-chairwoman of the APPG Caroline Lucas said: "The law-breaking over spending limits during the referendum campaign exposed how vulnerable our electoral system is.

"Both Leave campaigns broke spending limits but the fines available to the Electoral Commission were derisory.

"We are used to some political parties having much deeper pockets than others.

"But if we want people to have faith in our democracy and in the fairness of the outcome of elections, we must have transparency over how parties are being funded, so people know where the money is coming from and who is behind it.

"We cannot take our democracy for granted. Trust in our politics is at an all-time low and we have to fix that urgently if we are to fix our country."