Chancellor’s local office daubed in graffiti

POLICE have opened an investigation after Jeremy Hunt’s constituency office was vandalised on Monday evening as he finalised his spring Budget statement.

The front door and windows of the Chancellor’s office in Hindhead, Surrey, were defaced with graffiti in white spray paint that read: “Die Tory scum.”

The attack, first reported by the Woking News and Mail, is the latest in a series of aggressive acts or criminal incidents at Conservative MPS’ offices and homes.

Protesters from the Palestine Solidarity Movement demonstrated outside Tobias Ellwood’s house last month.

Yesterday, a man admitted in court that he set fire to a shed at Mike Freer’s constituency office in north London on Christmas Eve, but denied the act was “politically motivated or targeted”. Mr Hunt insisted he would not be “deterred” by the attack on his office, telling The Daily Express: “The British people are famously tolerant, which is why we have one of the most robust democracies in the world. We won’t be deterred by a few idiots.”

Mr Hunt’s office was likely to have been vandalised between 8pm and 9pm on Monday, according to Surrey Police. The graffiti was discovered yesterday morning.

The Chancellor spent yesterday evening solidifying the details of his Budget statement, which will be delivered in the Commons today.

On Sunday, The Guardian revealed that Mr Hunt had contributed more than £100,000 to the funds of his constituency Conservative party. Electoral Commission records showed that, in the past five years, he has donated £105,261 to the Southwest Surrey Con- servative association.

Mr Hunt has been projected to lose his seat at the next election, and would become the first sitting Chancellor in history to suffer such a defeat. His Godalming and Ash constituency is a key target for the Liberal Democrats, whose leader, Sir Ed Davey, spent yesterday campaigning in the area.

Surrey Police issued a plea for information, including any CCTV, dashcam or helmetcam footage.

A spokesman added: “Officers were called following reports of criminal damage at a property on Tilford Road in Hindhead, which is believed to have taken place between 8pm and 9pm on Monday March 4. The criminal damage involved graffiti being sprayed on the windows on the outside of the property. No one was present in the property at the time of the criminal damage.”