London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 28, 2025

Penny Mordaunt: what her 85 days as defence secretary tell us about her

Penny Mordaunt: what her 85 days as defence secretary tell us about her

Analysis: Tory leader contender was first woman to hold post and is hoping trade and equalities experience will also play in favour

Penny Mordaunt lists her achievements in her 85 days as defence secretary as being the first woman to hold the job – and implementing a pay increase that ensured no serviceman or woman was paid below the living wage.

A note circulated by supporters in her campaign, which has stalled after she lost one vote in the most recent poll, begins with her short time at the Ministry of Defence but relegates her more controversial and simultaneous tenure as equalities minister to sixth on a list of her ministerial jobs.

At defence, her time in office was so brief that aside from getting the job in the first place, the principal highlight is deemed to be the award of an above-inflation pay rise, worth 6% to junior forces personnel.

Mordaunt had little time to leave a mark because she was abruptly sacked in July 2019 by Boris Johnson when he became prime minister. The ousted minister had supported his main rival, Jeremy Hunt, and was replaced by longtime Johnson backer Ben Wallace.

One former MoD source said a complaint from the department was that Mordaunt often focused on her other role as equalities minister, during which time she presented a detailed plan – already voted on in principle by MPs – to extend civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples.

At equalities, between April 2018 and July 2019, Mordaunt lists the release of a gender equalities roadmap, summarising the government’s existing aspirations for women’s rights and opportunities. But she does not list a more controversial 2018 consultation on a possible reform of the Gender Recognition Act, and how it could be made easier to transition.

Leaked documents over the weekend suggested ministers during her time in post had supported the removal of at least one of two medical requirements needed by people to change their gender.

Mordaunt, however, described such claims as “toxic politics” and “smears” fuelled by rivals. Ultimately, no change in policy emerged while Mordaunt was in post, and the idea of reform was ditched by her successor, Liz Truss.

Another ex-senior Whitehall official said she was a minister who “doesn’t have strong views” which was “unhelpful if you want clear high-level direction”. However, they added, she was refreshingly honest about what she knew and what she did not.

Some of this may be described as snobbery. Allies of Mordaunt say she is “competent and good at the dispatch box” and that “the public will warm to her” if she were to get into Downing Street after seeing off her remaining Tory rivals.

The principal crisis during her tenure at defence was the threat posed to western oil tankers by Iran in the Gulf. After she left office, Mordaunt said she had asked the former prime minister Theresa May five times for an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss the worsening situation before one was held.

On the fourth occasion, Mordaunt subsequently told MPs inquiring into the subject that she had made the request in writing so there was an “audit trail”. She feared, she added, a British ship would be seized. A few days later, the Stena Impero, a British-flagged oil tanker, was detained by Iran for two months.

Out of government, Mordaunt supported a campaign to create new emojis to help call out rude or bullying behaviour online. She was then appointed paymaster general in the Treasury in February 2020, and launched a consultation on a post-Covid national resilience strategy.

A list of ministerial achievements says she “rewrote” the strategy, although it has yet to come out, months after the consultation closed last December. A junior trade job followed in September, in which like many other junior ministerial jobs there appeared to be little to do.

Mordaunt has responsibility for negotiating trade agreements with individual US states, helping sign off a deal with Indiana in May. But her boss, the trade secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, accused her on Monday morning of being unavailable to carry out ministerial duties, leaving others to “pick up the pieces” because she been “focused on preparing her leadership campaign”.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
×