Debate cancelled as Mordaunt under fire
PENNY Mordaunt missed ministerial meetings because she was plotting her Tory leadership bid, her departmental boss claimed, as senior Conservatives expressed concern about the increasingly bitter race to replace Boris Johnson.
The trade minister’s absence from meetings forced colleagues to pick up the pieces, International Trade Secretary AnneMarie Trevelyan alleged in a scathing attack on the leadership hopeful.
The Cabinet minister is backing Tom Tugendhat for the Conservative Party leadership, but he was at risk of being eliminated from the contest in the lastest round of voting.
In a sign of the concern about the way the leadership race is being conducted, campaign frontrunner Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss confirmed they did not want to take part in a Sky News debate planned last night – prompting the broadcaster to cancel the show.
“Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the image of the Conservative Party, exposing disagreements and splits within the party,” a Sky statement said.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he is “astonished” by candidates withdrawing from the debate, arguing that it demonstrates a lack of “confidence”.
He told reporters at a central London bank: “I can see, based on what I’ve seen in the debates so far, why they want to do so because this is a party that is out of ideas, out of purpose, they’re tearing each other apart.”
The leadership contenders – Mr Sunak, Ms Truss, Ms Mordaunt, Mr Tugendhat and Kemi Badenoch – have already taken part in debates on Channel 4 and ITV which have seen the would-be prime ministers taking primetime pot shots at each other.
Ms Mordaunt’s record in office came in for further attack from Ms Trevelyan on LBC Radio on Monday morning.
Asked about Ms Mordaunt’s grasp of details, Ms Trevelyan said: “We all do our jobs in different ways.
“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.”
Ms Trevelyan added: “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.”
But former minister Harriet Baldwin, an ally of Ms Mordaunt, said: “Having worked with Penny Mordaunt for a number of years, I can confirm this is not true.”