Protests targeting MPs' homes must not become the norm

On Monday evening, more than 60 activists gathered outside the home of Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative backbencher and former junior defence minister and chair of the Defence Select Committee. The protestors had assembled to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, although several were also heard supporting the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have recently been attacking shipping in the Red Sea. They mustered with placards and a megaphone. One of the signs accused Ellwood of being ‘complicit in genocide’.

Ellwood and his family said that they had been advised by police to ‘stay away’ from their home on the basis that ‘arriving through that crowd would’ve antagonised the situation’. Subsequently, a Dorset police spokesperson said that officers liaised with protestors to ‘ensure people could exercise their right to protest legally and safely without causing significant disorder’. No arrests were made.