Box of faeces left outside Tory MP Siobhan Baillie's office

A Tory MP has been left fuming with anger after someone left a box of faeces outside her constituency office in Gloucestershire.

The box was found outside Stroud MP Siobhan Baillie's office on Monday. It also contained a note with a derogatory message written on the inside.

The incident has not gone down well with the MP, who said that it was "the latest in many attempts to intimidate and harass herself and staff."

"There are plenty of ways to make a point about politics or governments without resorting to putting excrement in a box," she said. "Because of the nastiness we face, many decent people are thinking twice about standing for public office," she added.

Meanwhile, the Gloucestershire Police have launched an investigation into the case. "We are investigating an allegation of harassment after an offensive item was left outside Ms. Baillie's constituency office," the BBC quoted a spokesperson for Gloucestershire Police as saying.

This is not the first time that she has been targeted for something. She had become a victim of public ire for taking maternity leave after the birth of her daughter in May 2020. Her office had then claimed that she had received a "number of abusive emails, calls, and social media posts."

One of the persons described it as a "dereliction of duty," while another said that "having a baby is not an excuse for not responding to my email."

Her maternity leave coincided with the Dominic Cummings scandal in 2020. Cummings, then the chief adviser to Boris Johnson, had come under fire for travelling during the COVID-induced lockdown.

Baillie's constituents wanted answers from her and wrote to her, expressing their anger.

"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," wrote another constituent.

Harriet Butcher, her senior parliamentary assistant at the time, said: "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."