London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Penny Mordaunt defends time in government as rivals step up attacks

Penny Mordaunt defends time in government as rivals step up attacks

Bookmakers’ favourite to replace Johnson as PM accuses other campaigns of running ‘black ops’ briefings against her

Conservative leadership hopeful Penny Mordaunt has been forced to defend her time in government as her rivals step up attacks on her ministerial record.

The bookmakers’ favourite to win the race to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister has accused other campaigns of running “black ops” briefings against her to damage her chances of reaching the last two of the contest.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the trade minister insisted her achievements in government proved she could “get stuff done” and demonstrated she was ready for the top job.

“Look at my record, look at what I’ve done,” she said. “The first job that I had in government, I managed to bring the firefighters dispute, pensions dispute and strikes to an end. Other ministers didn’t.

“I managed to get real international leadership for this country and make a tangible difference to people’s lives on the issue of disability, as well as changing perceptions of our government, in that respect.

“In the 85 days I was at the MoD [Ministry of Defence], I brought in some things which have had a radical change in terms of our command structure and the fact that men and women of our armed forces are never, ever going to be paid less than the living wage again. I do get stuff done.”




Mordaunt also pointed to her work on UK’s resilience strategy and the compensation scheme for victims of the contaminated blood scandal as examples of her good work in government.

It comes after a week of stringent attacks on her credentials from rival Tory leadership campaigns, which prompted the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to accuse candidates of “scratching each other’s eyes out”.

A recent spate of negative coverage has included an attack from the former Brexit negotiator David Frost, as well as a lengthy “dossier” in the Daily Mail, setting out Mordaunt’s supposedly liberal views.

The rightwing newspaper once again dedicated its front page to boosting the foreign secretary Liz Truss’s flagging campaign, while also featuring an interview with Amanda Platell – Mordaunt’s former boss at CCHQ – who said the idea of Mordaunt as prime minister “fills me with horror”.

“People obviously are trying to stop me getting into the final because they don’t want to run against me,” Mordaunt said on Friday. Recent polling has shown she would win the final vote among Conservative members against any of her leadership rivals.

The race for No 10 exploded into acrimony after the first televised debate on Friday night, in which there were open arguments over tax and identity politics.

Just hours after Truss sought to reinvigorate her campaign with the announcement of new tax cuts costing more than £20bn a year, Rishi Sunak, the ex-chancellor, openly ridiculed his former colleague’s plans during the Channel 4 broadcast.

In a separate spat, Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch clashed over the former’s views on trans rights. When Truss declined to support her version of events about policies in the government’s equalities office, Badenoch said: “Come on Liz, tell the truth.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×