Siobhan Baillie condemned the “disgust” of the act on Monday after the item was found at her workplace in Stroud, Gloucestershire, and warned that such abuse was putting people off becoming MPs. “There are many ways to talk about politics or governments without resorting to putting poo in a box,” he said. “Because of the disgust we face, many decent people are thinking twice about running for public office.” The box is said to have contained a derogatory note written inside, which the Stroud News & Journal reported read: “If you don’t clean up your own Sh** why should I?” A spokesman for Gloucestershire Police told the BBC: “We are investigating an allegation of harassment after an offensive object was left outside Ms Baillie’s constituency office.” In a post on her constituency website dated November 3, which showed a partial image of the box with her name on it, Baillie said: “I have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior and my staff, who are employees who they are helping the local people with their issues, they should not be involved in such things.” Baillie, who has been MP for Stroud since 2019, has spoken out about how she has been targeted in the past after taking maternity leave after the birth of her daughter. Her leave coincided with the fallout from the Dominic Cummings scandal in 2020, when Boris Johnson’s then chief adviser traveled from London to County Durham during a Covid lockdown. A person who contacted her office at the time wrote: “Why won’t my MP answer me given the seriousness of the Cummings case and the impact it has on public trust. I don’t care that she just gave birth.” Another voter accused Baillie of “dereliction of duty” because she was on maternity leave. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. At the time, Harriet Butcher, senior parliamentary aide to Baillie, said: “Unfortunately, Siobhan has received nasty emails, the vast majority from men who seem to think that the Equality Act 2010 does not apply to a woman because she is an MP . “It is valid and Siobhan has an absolute right guaranteed by law to take maternity leave.” Baillie and Gloucestershire Police have been contacted for comment.
