Tory MP says 'excrement' put through letterbox 'in attempt to bully me'
A Conservative parliamentary candidate has said "excrement" was put through the letter of her constituency office in "an attempt to bully me".
Katherine Fletcher, who is standing for re-election in South Ribble, said police are looking into the matter after a volunteer discovered the substance.
Election latest: Labour plan gets backing of key pandemic adviser
In a defiant post on X, she said whoever was trying to "intimidate" her during the election "had picked the wrong person".
In an accompanying video, she said: "Today the police are at my office because somebody has put excrement through the letterbox.
"One of my volunteers had to find that this morning.
"Now, I understand that women get more than their fair share in political environments, but this attempt to bully me will not work because it is not the decent or right thing to do."
Ms Fletcher, who has represented the Lancashire constituency since 2019, said she would not be deterred from campaigning to be re-elected, saying she has "delivered loads" and wants "the opportunity to do more".
She added: "And so to the bully that did this: not the right person."
Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, called the incident "absolutely disgraceful" and said people should take to the "Twittersphere in their thousands and thousands to call this out".
More politics:
Abbott accuses Starmer of 'culling' Labour left wingers
Polling suggests trouble ahead for Starmer if times get tough
He told GB News: "This is just a disgraceful thing and whoever did that, it is utterly shameful.
"I would like to see the same kind of energy generally from the public in terms of expressions of disgust for this kind of behaviour, whichever political party is impacted."
He added: "I think society generally has to call this out. In terms of support for Katherine she's a fantastic colleague, she's a very resilient and capable lady, and she will come through this absolutely fine.
"But this is absolutely disgraceful, and people should be taking to the Twittersphere now in their thousands and thousands to call this out."
Click below to see the latest North West headlines
There have been growing concerns over the safety of MPs in recent years.
A £31m package to boost security measures for politicians - including providing MPs with a dedicated police safety liaison - was introduced by the government in February.
MPs have expressed concern that rising abuse towards them will put off the next generation of politicians.
Earlier this year Justice minister Mike Freer announced he would not be standing at the General Election because of fears over his personal safety, after death threats and an arson attack at his office.
Tensions have been heightened by protests around the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, with some groups targeting MPs' homes.
It follows the murders in recent years of MPs Jo Cox and Sir David Amess in their constituencies.
