MINISTERS are "extremely concerned" about the disturbing Momo challenge game, Andrea Leadsom has said.

The Commons boss said the weird new craze, which is said to have spread on social media sites, was "appalling" but she claimed there is no current risk to British kids.

Ms Leadsom warned that the Momo challenge, a game on social media in which players are threatened to follow 'orders' from a scary-looking avatar, was worrying.

Police and schools have been raising concerns about the bizarre scary face which pops up with terrifying new threats and challenges.

Today Ms Leadsom was asked about how ministers could stop the "scourge of online dangers" by Tory MP Douglas Ross.

She told MPs: "My Honourable Friend is raising an appalling situation, the Momo challenge is something I have also heard of, is one the Government is extremely concerned about."

And she said that "more needs to be done to protect young people online, including from cyber bullying and suicide and self harm content".

Internet companies which host such content have a "responsibility to their users", she went on.

But she repeated the remarks of experts who said that there's not a current threat to kids.

"In the case of Momo, organisations including Samaritans, NSPCC and Safer Internet Centre have said there is no concerned evidence that the Momo phenomenon is posing a threat to British children," Ms Leadsom said.

Several internet users have reported that the character - which was created completely separately for an exhibition in Tokyo - threatens them if they don't follow orders.

It's even been reported to have been linked to some deaths, and has been identified all around the world.

In recent days headteachers and parents have become more concerned about the bizarre messages, which have left kids terrified.

Police in Northern Ireland said it was liaising with other forces over the "disturbing game".

And Police Scotland have now warned mums and dads to remain vigilant in what their children are up to on their computers and phones.

Detective Constable Adam Potts, a Digital Media Investigator with Police Scotland said: "The existence of online challenges such as 'Momo' are clearly a matter for concern for parents, however these type of so called challenges appear every few months on the internet and we have certainly seen countless other examples over the years."

Northolt Community Special School in Hull, East Yorks, issued a warning to parents yesterday after pupils were reportedly targeted on YouTube.

The school said: "We are aware that some nasty challenges (Momo challenge) are hacking into children's programmes.

"Challenges appear midway through Kids YouTube, Fortnight, Peppa pig to avoid detection by adults.

"Please be vigilant with your child using IT, images are very disturbing."

Parents have previously told The Sun Online how the character, which was originally created by a Japanese artist with no links to the game, has appeared on their child's YouTube videos.

One mum, from Swindon, said her six-year-old son was watching a gaming channel when the creature popped up and warned "I'm going to kill you".

A YouTube spokesman said: "YouTube’s Community Guidelines prohibit content that's intended to encourage dangerous activities that have an inherent risk of physical harm or death. We remove flagged videos that violate our policies."

Instagram says it has now deleted three accounts involved in promoting Momo.

An Instagram spokespman said: "Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the people who use Instagram. Content or accounts that encourage others to harm themselves are not allowed and we will remove them as soon as we are made aware.

"We encourage anyone who comes across anything like this to report it and we have a team working 24/7 who prioritise reports related to self-harm.”