A Conservative parliamentary candidate said “excrement” was placed on her constituency office letter in an “attempt to intimidate me”.
Katherine Fletcher, who is running for re-election in South Ribble, said police are investigating the matter after a volunteer discovered the substance.
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In a defiant post on X, she said that whoever was trying to “intimidate” her during the election “chose the wrong person.”
In an accompanying video, she said: “Today the police are in my office because someone put excrement in the mailbox.
“One of my volunteers had to figure it out this morning.
“Now, I understand that women get more than their fair share in political settings, but this attempt to intimidate me will not work because it is not the decent or right thing to do.”
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 a lot” and wants “the opportunity to do more”.
She added: “And so to the abuser who did this: not the right person.”
Mel Stride, Work and Pensions Secretary, called the incident “absolutely disgraceful” and said people should turn to “the Twittersphere in their thousands and thousands to report this”.
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He told GB News: “This is a disgraceful thing and whoever did this is completely disgraceful.
“I would like to see the same kind of energy from the public in terms of expressions of disgust at this kind of behavior, whatever political party is affected.”
He added: “I think society generally has to call it out. In terms of supporting Katherine, she is a fantastic colleague, she is a very resilient and capable lady, and she will get through this absolutely fine.
“But this is absolutely shameful, and people should take to the Twittersphere now in their thousands and thousands to report this.”
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There have been growing concerns about the safety of deputies in recent years.
A £31m package to bolster security measures for politicians – including providing MPs with a dedicated police security liaison – was unveiled by the government in February.
MPs expressed concern that the rise in abuse against them would put off the next generation of politicians.
Earlier this year, Justice Minister Mike Freer announced he would not run in the general election. because of fears about their personal safetyafter death threats and an arson attack on his office.
Tensions were heightened by protests surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, with some groups target deputies’ homes.
Follows the murders of parliamentarians in recent years Jo Cox It is Sir David Amess in their constituencies.
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