A box of faeces was left outside a Tory MP's constituency office, sparking an investigation by police. Conservative MP Siobhan Baillie condemned the 'nastiness' faced by MPs after the box, which was reportedly accompanied by a derogatory note, was left outside her office in Stroud, Gloucestershire.
Ms Baillie was elected as the first female to represent Stroud in the December 2019 election. The white carton, which had her name scrawled on the top, was left on the doorstep on November 2, with Ms Baillie saying police were called "immediately".
Writing on her Facebook page on November 3, the MP said: "Police officers were called immediately after a carton of excrement was left on the doorstep of my constituency office yesterday. I thank our local police for taking this matter seriously and investigating, including looking at CCTV.
"I have a zero tolerance for this sort of behaviour and my staff, who are caseworkers helping local people with their issues, should not have to deal with things like this."
Gloucestershire Police confirmed to Gloucestershire Live that they are investigating the incident as harassment and said they are taking the matter seriously. Ms Baillie said 'nastiness' like this is making "decent" people think twice about standing for public office.
She added that there are plenty of ways to make a point about politics or governments without resorting to putting excrement in a box.
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Constabulary said: "Police are investigating an allegation of harassment after an offensive item was left outside of the constituency office of Stroud MP Siobhan Baillie. The incident was reported shortly after 1.30pm on Wednesday (November 2) .
"Enquires are continuing. We are taking this incident of harassment seriously and ask that anyone with information contacts Gloucestershire Constabulary through the website, quoting incident 212 of 2 November."
Staff for Ms Baillie said she was previously targeted after taking maternity leave following the birth of her daughter. One person wrote to her constituency office expressing their anger at the Dominic Cummings scandal in 2020, and demanding a response from her.
Her leave roughly coincided with the fallout from Mr Cummings – then the chief adviser to Boris Johnson – travelling from London to County Durham during a Covid lockdown.
“Why will my MP not respond to me, given the gravity of the Cummings affair and the impact this is having of public trust. I don’t care that she has just given birth,” the person wrote.
Another said: “I asked for Siobhan’s viewpoint. I WANT SIOBHAN’s. Having a baby in not an excuse for not responding to my email.”
One constituent described Ms Baillie being on maternity leave as a “dereliction of duty”.
Harriet Butcher, Ms Baillie’s then senior parliamentary assistant, said at the time: “Sadly, Siobhan has received unpleasant emails, the vast majority from men who seem to think the 2010 Equality Act does not apply to a woman because she is an MP.
“It does apply and Siobhan has an absolute right enshrined in law to take maternity leave. Presently, it is her intention to do so for a minimum of four weeks, which is considerably less than she is legally entitled to.”
