Pro-Palestinian protesters have held a demonstration outside the home of Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood, with signs accusing him of being “complicit in genocide” in Gaza.
The group of activists were filmed waving Palestinian flags and leading chants with a megaphone on Monday night.
Mr Ellwood told Sky News’ Kay Burley that between 60 and 80 people gathered outside for a number of hours while he and his children were indoors, and Operation Bridger – a police security programme to protect MPs – was put in place.
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Dorset Police confirmed they were aware of the protest, with a spokesperson telling Sky News: “Officers attended the scene and liaised with the organisers to ensure people could exercise their right to protest legally and safely without causing significant or ongoing serious public disorder, serious damage or serious disruption to the community.
“We respect people’s right to lawful protest. However, we have a duty to ensure those involved act within the law and ensure the local community can go about their lawful activities.”
The force said the group left the area by around 8.50pm and no arrests were made.
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Housing minister Lee Rowley told Sky News the incident was “terrible”, accusing the protesters of “bullying” and making an “attempt to intimidate” his colleague.
“We know that is not what the vast majority of the people in this country do though,” he added. “They debate properly. They debate proportionately. They debate reasonably.
“I think this kind of [protests]should absolutely stop and we should get back to debating and discussing the key issues.”
