Mordaunt bid was ‘ready to go’ in January

Johnson feared that trade minister was preparing her Tory leadership campaign weeks ago

‘A large part of what she has been doing is conversations with MPs and speaking on the associations circuit’

‘We weren’t installing the phone lines, we didn’t have anything in place until last Friday’

BORIS JOHNSON singled out Penny Mordaunt as a minister he feared was preparing to destabilise the Government weeks ago, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose, as it was claimed that the trade minister told colleagues in January that her leadership campaign was already “ready to go”.

A source told this newspaper that the Prime Minister cited Ms Mordaunt as an example of a minister believed to be preparing to quit, in a conversation last month – before the scandal over Chris Pincher, the deputy chief whip, that triggered Mr Johnson’s resignation.

The disclosure came as Tory sources claimed that Ms Mordaunt had been on leadership manoeuvres since at least January – weeks after MPs demanded a change in Mr Johnson’s approach, following controversies over Covid restrictions and the botched attempt to save Owen Paterson from punishment for breaching lobbying rules.

One colleague approached by Ms Mordaunt in January, as she canvassed support for a leadership bid, said: “She told me at the time that she was funded and ready to go.”

Last night a source close to Ms Mordaunt’s campaign denied the claim, describing it as “inaccurate and completely untrue”. The source added: “Penny remained loyal to the Government as she had a ministerial position and ... did not resign her role.”

A government figure added: “A large part of what she has been doing is conversations with MPs and speaking on the associations circuit.”

Ms Mordaunt is thought to have been actively considering a leadership bid since 2018, but instead chose to back Jeremy Hunt’s attempt to succeed Theresa May the following year.

In September 2018 Ms Mordaunt, who was then International Development Secretary, wrote a polemic interpreted by Tory activists as a pitch to take the helm of the party, in which she warned that the public had “lost trust in their leaders”, with politicians failing to “read” and “lead” those they serve.

The article came two days after a ConservativeHome survey placed her second in a league table listing cabinet ministers in order of their satisfaction ratings among Tory members.

Ms Mordaunt’s backers deny her leadership operation began months ago, but last week said conversations about a bid began at Easter, following Mr Johnson’s fine for breaking Covid rules. A campaign source told The Times on Friday: “We weren’t installing the phone lines, we didn’t have anything in place until last Friday.” The claims of Ms Mordaunt’s approaches to colleagues in January cast doubt on that version of events.

Rishi Sunak faced similar accusations of “plotting” against the Prime Minister. A very similar web address to Rishi Sunak’s official campaign website, launched last week, was registered on Dec 23. Mr Sunak’s team denied that they owned the second address.

Yesterday The Telegraph revealed that Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the International Trade Secretary, “does not disagree with” concerns set out by Lord Frost, who worked with Ms Mordaunt in the Cabinet Office, about the leadership contender’s capabilities and work ethic.

Last night, The Sunday Times reported Ms Mordaunt is planning to ditch Mr Johnson’s Brexit plans by maintaining a trade border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, in a move that will likely anger the Right of the Conservative Party.

Ms Mordaunt was also facing fresh questions last night over her position on trans rights, after a leaked memo cast doubt on her claim this week that she was never in favour of gender self-identification. The Whitehall document, prepared in 2019 when she was equalities minister, suggested she supported plans to simplify the process of changing gender, the Mail on Sunday reported.