An MP in the county has used little-known parliamentary powers to seize internal Facebook documents in a long-running tussle with the social media giant.

The actions by Folkestone and Hythe MP Damian Collins is the latest development in a stand-off between MPs and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who has repeatedly declined to answer questions from an all-party Parliamentary committee.

The emails obtained could reveal whether Facebook allowed firms to exploit flaws in its privacy policies to target millions with political advertising.

Mr Collins, who chairs the culture media and sport select committee, used powers to get hold of the documents from Ted Kramer, the founder of US app developer Six4Three.

Six4Three, acquired the files as part of a US lawsuit against Facebook.

The documents are alleged to contain significant revelations about Facebook decisions on data and privacy controls that led to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Reports say Parliament sent a serjeant at arms to Mr Kramer’s hotel with a final warning and a two-hour deadline to comply with its order.

When the software firm founder failed to do so, he was escorted to parliament. He was told he risked fines and even imprisonment if he didn’t hand over the documents.

Mr Collins, who confirmed this week he will not back Theresa May's Brexit deal, said: “This is an unprecedented move but it’s an unprecedented situation.

"We’ve failed to get answers from Facebook and we believe the documents contain information of very high public interest.”