Penny Mordaunt's boss accuses her of missing key meetings to focus on leadership bid

Penny Mordaunt has been accused by her own boss of missing key ministerial meetings because she was too busy working on her Conservative leadership bid.

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who is backing Tom Tugendhat in the leadership race, said Ms Mordaunt’s absence meant other colleagues in the department were left to take on additional work.

In the latest scathing attack on Ms Mordaunt’s record in office, Ms Trevelyan told LBC that “we all do our jobs in different ways” when asked about the leadership hopeful’s grasp of details.

“Understandably, perhaps, now it’s clear, Penny has for the last few months spent some of her time focused on preparing her leadership campaign, for which I have utmost respect, that’s how this system works,” she said.

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Ms Trevelyan continued: “There have been a number of times when she hasn’t been available, which would have been useful, and other ministers have picked up the pieces.”

Ms Mordaunt suffered her first setback of the campaign last week when she was attacked by MPs over her stance on trans issues.

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The former defence secretary has previously angered Tory traditionalists by speaking out in favour of trans rights and gender recognition.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby last week, Ms Mordaunt accused others of engaging in “black ops” in an attempt to stop her from getting to the final round of the leadership contest because she is who they most fear competing against head-to-head.

“People obviously are trying to stop me getting into the final because they don’t want to run against me,” she said.

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Probed on other Conservatives including former Brexit minister Lord Frost suggesting she is not competent enough to be prime minister, Ms Mordaunt continued: “People are going to try and stop me, and it’s right. That is right. Anyone going for this job needs to be tested and scrutinised.

“You’ll see from my campaign that I’m not engaging in any of that.

“I am running a positive campaign, and I’m talking in this campaign about the issues that the public are worried about.

“People are really worried already – and looking ahead to autumn – about the cost of living.

“I would talk about the merits of my approach, which is to not just win this contest, but to win a general election.

“And that’s why I’m not engaging in any of these black ops.”

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On Sunday, Ms Mordaunt dismissed claims about her views on trans rights as “smears” – as former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith questioned whether the trade minister is experienced enough to be prime minister.

A spokesperson for her campaign hit back: “The fact that so much of this contest has been distracted by side issues instead of the cost of living crisis impacting millions of people, is a major disappointment.”

Ms Mordaunt, speaking to the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme, denied the reports that she had pushed through the policy to end the requirement for trans people to obtain a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria before they could legally change gender when she was equalities minister in Theresa May’s government.

“There is a number of smears going on in the papers. My colleagues are very angry and upset that this is how the leadership contest is being dragged down,” she said.

Meanwhile, Sir Iain – who is backing Ms Truss in the leadership contest – questioned Ms Mordaunt’s record in government.

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He told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: “The one person I don’t know what her achievements are is Penny (Mordaunt). I don’t have any problem with her, I have no issues at all.

“But for me the key thing is we’re not electing a leader of the Conservative Party that has two years to build their reputation, we are electing someone who will be prime minister on day one.

“So you need to know when they had power and authority in government, what did they do with it, what did they get, what did they achieve, what were their main beliefs, what did they drive through, what tough decisions did they have to take, and actually they have to sometimes go against their civil servants to get these things done.”

The five remaining Conservative leadership rivals – Ms Mordaunt, Mr Tugendhat, Ms Badenoch, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak -will be whittled down to just four later today in the third round of voting.

Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt maintained their places at the top end of the leaderboard in first and second spot respectively following the second ballot.

Ms Truss, who came in third, will hope to pick up votes from Attorney General Suella Braverman who endorsed her candidacy after she was eliminated in the last round.

Ms Badenoch was fourth, with Mr Tugendhat in fifth place.

There will be successive rounds of voting by MPs until only two contenders remain.

The new leader will be announced on 5 September and is expected to become prime minister the following day.

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