Inquiry into leaks as team Mordaunt blames defeat on ‘smear campaign’

‘Blue-on-blue’ attacks led to trade minister missing out, her camp says after coming third behind Truss

PENNY MORDAUNT narrowly failed to get into the final two of the Conservative leadership race thanks to a “vicious personal smear campaign” against her, allies suggested last night.

The trade minister slipped to third place in the final ballot of MPS, gathering eight fewer votes than Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, in second.

Yesterday Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, launched an inquiry into leaks apparently designed to damage Ms Mordaunt’s leadership campaign.

Last night, MPS blamed “venom” from rival camps for her narrow defeat.

George Freeman, a former science minister, said: “Penny Mordaunt was the breakthrough change candidate with a positive campaign, a clear set of doorstep policy priorities for hardpressed households and the strongest polling with target voters.”

He said she was “stopped by a vicious personal smear campaign” that “cut through with Conservative MPS and members”, adding: “I hope the summer campaign is fought more positively to help restore public trust.”

Writing on Twitter, Elliot Colburn, MP for Carshalton and Wallington, said Ms Mordaunt “should be proud, especially with the venom directed at her”.

Alicia Kearns, the MP for Rutland and Melton, said it had been “disappointing to see more blue-on-blue from anonymous ‘allies’”.

Ms Mordaunt had come in second behind Rishi Sunak in earlier ballots, leading to panic among the Tory Right that none of their candidates would reach the final two. She faced vitriol in some parts of the press over apparent past support for “woke” issues like selfidentification for transgender people.

Eventually, the Right of the party coalesced around Ms Truss and in yesterday’s final ballot she received 113 votes to Ms Mordaunt’s 105.

In a statement, Ms Mordaunt said: “I want to congratulate both Rishi and Liz in getting through to the next stage. I pay tribute to anyone who puts themselves forward for such a demanding role.

“Politics isn’t easy. It can be a divisive and difficult place. We must now all work together to unify our party and focus on the job that needs to be done.

“I am a One Nation, proud Brexiteer. My campaign put forward a positive vision for the country I love so much, remembering who we are here to serve.

“Our mission is not only to deliver on what we promised but to win the fight against Labour at the next general election. I hope to play my part in both.”

Mr Case, the head of the Civil Service, said yesterday that he had begun a leak inquiry after papers drawn up by civil servants appeared in a story in The Sunday Times. He said: “Unauthorised disclosure of government information to the media is clearly inappropriate.”

During the campaign, Ms Mordaunt had accused her rivals of leading a “toxic” smear campaign against her.

One supporter said: “The personal attacks on Penny for daring to challenge at all had a great deal of weight.

“I would imagine there was some vote-swapping going on. It’s pretty clear the Rishi camp much preferred Liz, because they thought she would be much less electable than Penny.

“I think Liz will take chunks out of him though – it’ll be no-holds-barred. It’ll be a dog fight.”

One Red Wall MP said some of Ms Mordaunt’s supporters moved camps in the final ballot over policy, feeling there was not enough “meat on the bone”.

“A lot of people really liked Penny but there was a lack of detail compared to Rishi and Liz,” one MP said. “We are electing a prime minister who is going to have to come in from day one and enact a plan. They wanted her to flesh it out a bit more and that didn’t happen.”

Last night, Michael Fabricant, who supported Ms Mordaunt in the final ballot, said: “The final ballot was a Pyrrhic victory for Rishi. He only won the support of 38 per cent of Conservative MPS and that’s worth comparing with Boris who got 66 per cent and Theresa May who got 60 per cent.”

He added: “The feedback I am getting from ordinary party members seems to show that they are very aware of who was and who wasn’t loyal.”

‘It’s pretty clear the Rishi camp much preferred Liz, because they thought she would be much less electable than Penny’