‘I had my tyres slashed and death threats by email ... it was quite nasty’
MARIA Caulfield was subjected to repeated death threats, had her car tyres slashed outside her home and has been subjected to abuse on an almost daily basis.
The Tory MP for Lewes in East Sussex said 90 per cent of her campaign posters had either been stolen or vandalised ahead of last month’s election.
Security experts advised her to install a video entry system at her constituency office last week for extra protection. Miss Caulfield, 3, said: ‘I got elected in 2015, and the abuse has almost been a daily feature of life as an MP. I’ve had my tyres slashed, I’ve had graffiti outside my office, I have had death threats by email and letters, abuse on social media. There is a range of things they do to intimidate you.’
The walls outside Miss Caulfield’s office were daubed with ‘austerity kills’, while vandalism on her election posters included: ‘Kill the Tories.’
She said: ‘We put around 200 poster boards up, and I would say 90 per cent were defaced or went missing.’
Miss Caulfield said she was left ‘feeling vulnerable’ after her car was attacked where she lives. ‘It was outside my house, so that was quite intimidating that the person knows where I live,’ she said. ‘It was quite nasty. If people don’t like me... vote for somebody else.’