Dame Penny Mordaunt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Official portrait, 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the House of Commons Lord President of the Council | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 6 September 2022 – 5 July 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Liz Truss Rishi Sunak | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Mark Spencer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Lucy Powell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for Defence | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1 May 2019 – 24 July 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Theresa May | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Gavin Williamson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Ben Wallace | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for International Development | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 9 November 2017 – 1 May 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Theresa May | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Priti Patel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Rory Stewart | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister for Women and Equalities | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 30 April 2018 – 24 July 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Theresa May | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Amber Rudd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Amber Rudd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament forPortsmouth North | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 6 May 2010 – 30 May 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Sarah McCarthy-Fry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Amanda Martin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Penelope Mary Mordaunt (1973-03-04)4 March 1973 (age 52) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Conservative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Reading (BA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Military service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Branch/service |  Royal Navy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years of service | 2010–2019[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Acting Sub-Lieutenant (HonoraryCaptain) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unit | Royal Naval Reserve | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mordaunt comments on her appointment asSecretary of State for International Development Recorded 10 November 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dame Penelope Mary Mordaunt (/ˈmɔːrdənt/; born 4 March 1973) is a British formerConservative politician who served asLord President of the Council andLeader of the House of Commons from 2022 until 2024. She was theMember of Parliament (MP) forPortsmouth North from2010 to2024. She ran twice for theConservative party leadership inJuly–September andOctober 2022, losing toLiz Truss andRishi Sunak, respectively. In the2024 general election, Mordaunt lost her Portsmouth North seat to Labour'sAmanda Martin.
Mordaunt pursued a degree in Philosophy at theUniversity of Reading, before working in the public relations industry. She held roles underConservative Party leadersJohn Major andWilliam Hague, and also worked forGeorge W. Bush's presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2004. Mordaunt was elected to theHouse of Commons at the 2010 general election. Under thecoalition government ofDavid Cameron, she served asParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Decentralisation from 2014 to 2015. After the2015 general election, Cameron promoted her toMinister of State for the Armed Forces, the first woman to hold the post. Mordaunt supportedBrexit in the2016 referendum on EU membership. FollowingTheresa May's appointment as prime minister, Mordaunt was appointedMinister of State for Disabled People, Work and Health. In 2017, following the resignation ofPriti Patel, she was appointedSecretary of State for International Development. She also served asMinister for Women and Equalities from 2018 to 2019.
In May 2019, Mordaunt was appointed to the Cabinet position ofSecretary of State for Defence, replacingGavin Williamson, becoming the first woman to hold the post. She served as Defence Secretary for 85 days before returning to thebackbenches, having been removed from office by the new prime ministerBoris Johnson. In theFebruary 2020 reshuffle, she re-entered government asPaymaster General. In the2021 reshuffle, she was appointed Minister of State for Trade Policy.
Following Johnson's announcement in July 2022 that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister, Mordaunt entered the leadership contest to succeed him, but was eliminated in the final round of voting among Conservative MPs and subsequently endorsed Truss. Mordaunt was appointed asLeader of the House of Commons andLord President of the Council when Truss became prime minister. Following Truss's resignation on 20 October 2022, Mordaunt made a second bid to become Conservative leader and prime minister. She pulled out of the election after being unable to gain the necessary endorsement of 100 MPs, allowing Sunak to become Conservative Leader and prime minister unopposed. Sunak later retained Mordaunt in his cabinet, continuing as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President, giving her a notable role at thecoronation of Charles III and Camilla. In the 2024 general election, Mordaunt was one of many high-profile Conservative members of parliament who lost their seats in Labour’s landslide victory, alongsideLiz Truss,Grant Shapps,Jacob Rees-Mogg andJohnny Mercer.[2]
Penelope Mordaunt was born on 4 March 1973[3][4][5][6] inTorquay,Devon.[7] The daughter of a formerparatrooper, she says that she was named afterHMS Penelope.[8] Her father, John Mordaunt, born atHilsea Barracks, served in theParachute Regiment before retraining as a teacher, and later became a youth worker forHampshire County Council.[9] Her mother, Jennifer (née Snowden), was a special needs teacher at schools inPurbrook.[9] Through her mother she is a relative ofPhilip Snowden, the firstLabourChancellor of the Exchequer.[10] The actressDame Angela Lansbury was her grandmother's cousin,[11][12] thus she is distantly related to formerLabour Party leaderGeorge Lansbury,[13] as well asMalcolm Bligh Turnbull AC, who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018.[14]
Mordaunt has two brothers: her twin, James,[15] and a younger brother, Edward.[16] She was educated atOaklands Roman Catholic School inWaterlooville,Hampshire, and studied drama at the Victoryland Theatre School.[17] Mordaunt was 15 when her mother died of breast cancer and after leaving school, she became her younger brother Edward's primary caregiver. The following year her father was also diagnosed with cancer, from which he recovered. To support her time at university Mordaunt worked in aJohnson & Johnson factory, and became amagician's assistant to Will Ayling, a past president of thePortsmouth and District Magic Circle and of the British Ring of theInternational Brotherhood of Magicians.[18]
Mordaunt has attributed her interest in politics to her experiences whilst working in hospitals and orphanages ofRomania in the aftermath of the1989 revolution.[19] Mordaunt read philosophy at theUniversity of Reading, graduating in 1995 with upper second class honours. Although her parents had both undertakenfurther education, Mordaunt was the first member of her family to attend university.[16] Mordaunt was active in student politics and served as president of the Reading UniversityStudents' Union.[20]
After graduation, Mordaunt worked inpublic relations in various sectors. Under Prime MinisterJohn Major she was Head of Youth for the Conservative Party, before working for two years as Head of Broadcasting for the Conservatives underparty leaderWilliam Hague (1999–2001).[5][16] She worked as a communications specialist for the Freight Transport Association (nowLogistics UK) from 1997 to 1999. In 2000, she worked briefly as Head of Foreign Press forGeorge W. Bush'spresidential campaign.[21][22]
She was Communications Director for theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea from 2001 to 2003, before leaving to set up a new Anglo-American website called 'virtualconservatives'.[23][16]Lord Moylan, who was Deputy Leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council where Mordaunt was hired as a Director of Communications, said: "We had to get rid of her after a few months because she was incompetent."[24]
From 2004 to 2006, she was a director of Media Intelligence Partners.[5] Mordaunt worked again for theBush campaign in 2004.[25] She was a director at the Community Fund, which merged with the New Opportunities Fund to create theBig Lottery Fund, and created the Veterans Reunited programme, enabling service men and women to visitWorld War II battlefields and be involved in commemorative events.[9] Mordaunt worked for the Big Lottery Fund from 2003 to 2005.[5] In 2006, she became one of six directors at charityDiabetes UK, a role she held until 2009.[5][26][27]
In November 2003, Mordaunt was selected as the Conservativecandidate to contestPortsmouth North in the2005 general election. She attained a 5.5% swing towards the Conservatives,[16] but lost toLabour candidateSarah McCarthy-Fry by 1,139 votes.[28] A critic of women-only shortlists,[29][30] Mordaunt worked after the 2005 election as chief of staff forDavid Willetts's aborted leadership campaign.[31] Mordaunt was re-selected in January 2006 to contest Portsmouth North at the2010 general election.[16] At the election, she won the seat with an 8.6% swing from Labour, giving her a 7,289 majority. After her election in 2010, she became a member of thePublic Bill Committee for theDefence Reform Act 2014.[32] InParliament, she has also previously sat on the Privacy and Injunctions (Joint Committee), the Defence Committee, the European Scrutiny Committee and the Committees on Arms Export Controls (formerlyQuadripartite Committee).[33]
In 2014, Mordaunt proposed the Loyal Address in reply to the Queen'sSpeech from the throne.[34][35] When receiving the Speech of the Year award atThe Spectator magazine's Parliamentarian of the Year Awards in November 2014, Mordaunt said that she had delivered a speech in theHouse of Commons just before the Easter recess in 2013 on poultry welfare so as to use the word "cock", as a forfeit for a misdemeanour during Naval Reserve training.[36][37] She used the word "cock" six times and "lay" or "laid" five times. Following her comments, she was accused by Labour MPKate Hoey of trivialising parliament.[38] At the2015 general election, Mordaunt was re-elected as the MP for Portsmouth North with an increased majority of 10,537.[39] She was re-elected at the2017 general election with a decreased majority of 9,965,[40] but at the2019 general election she increased her majority to 15,780, where she won 61.4% of the vote.[41] In February 2024, Mordaunt was re-selected as the Conservative candidate for Portsmouth North at the2024 general election.[42]
Mordaunt was appointedParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Decentralisation at theDepartment for Communities and Local Government by Prime MinisterDavid Cameron in the2014 cabinet reshuffle.[11][43] During her tenure, she was accused by theFire Brigades Union "of misleading MPs over assurances given to firefighters from fire authorities regarding what would happen to their pensions if they fail fitness tests". This dispute led to strike action by firefighters over the increase of retirement age.[44]
Mordaunt was appointedMinister of State for the Armed Forces in May 2015, becoming the first woman to hold the post.[45] Major Robert Campbell, who was investigated and exonerated over the death of an Iraqi in 2003, criticised Mordaunt for backing theIraq Historic Allegations Team while she was Armed Forces Minister, stating: "Now she is depicting herself as the armed forces champion but she never did anything for me. She needs to apologise for how we were treated. She failed us as the armed forces champion."[46] In July 2016, followingTheresa May's appointment as prime minister, Mordaunt was appointedMinister of State for Disabled People, Work and Health at theDepartment for Work and Pensions.
Mordaunt was promoted to theCabinet asSecretary of State for International Development by Prime MinisterTheresa May on 9 November 2017, afterPriti Patel resigned.[47] In February 2018, an investigation byThe Times newspaper revealed allegations of misconduct byOxfam staff operating inHaiti, in the aftermath of the2010 earthquake. Mordaunt argued that Oxfam, which had received £32 million in Government funds in the previous financial year, had failed in its "moral leadership" over the scandal. She also said that Oxfam did "absolutely the wrong thing" by not reporting the detail of the allegations to the Government. Mordaunt felt it was important for aid organisations to report offences because she suspected that there were paedophiles "targeting" the charity sector in order to carry out predatory activities.[48]
Mordaunt becameMinister for Women and Equalities in April 2018, replacingAmber Rudd, who had resigned following theWindrush scandal.[49] In July 2018 she became the first minister to usesign language in the House of Commons, to applause from all sides.[50] In March 2019, she was criticised in a newspaper article byMaya Forstater, who claimed she had not answered toMumsnet users' satisfaction questions on sex and gender during a webchat held onInternational Women's Day.[51]
On 1 May 2019, Mordaunt was appointed as the first femaleSecretary of State for Defence following the dismissal ofGavin Williamson.[52] AfterBoris Johnson was elected Conservative Leader and appointed prime minister, he sacked Mordaunt as Defence Secretary, thus she left theGovernment on 24 July 2019.[53] Mordaunt had been a prominent supporter of Johnson's opponent,Jeremy Hunt, in the2019 Conservative Party leadership election.[54][55]
Ina cabinet reshuffle in February 2020, Mordaunt re-entered the government, joining theCabinet Office asPaymaster General in succession toOliver Dowden.[56] She was the UK alternate co-chair of theEU Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee.[57] She was appointedMinister of State for Trade Policy in the2021 cabinet reshuffle.[58]Lord Frost was critical of her time as his deputy in theBrexitnegotiations, saying he had "grave reservations" about her being prime minister and that "she did not master the detail that was necessary when we were in negotiations".[59][60]
On 6 September 2022, Mordaunt was appointedLeader of the House of Commons andLord President of the Council. Four days later, as Lord President of the Council, she presided over theAccession Council ceremony ofKing Charles III.[61] During a debate in the House of Commons, Mordaunt deputised forLiz Truss to receive questions fromLeader of the Labour PartySir Keir Starmer. After Truss resigned and was succeeded byRishi Sunak a month later, Mordaunt remained Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council.
On 6 May 2023, Mordaunt participated in thecoronation of Charles III and Camilla, presenting theJewelled Sword of Offering, in her ceremonial role asLord President of the Privy Council andbearer of theSword of State.[62] She became the first woman ever to fulfil the role. Instead of the traditional court dress,[63] Mordaunt commissioned her outfit, which included teal-shade cape dress and headpiece both embroidered with golden ferns.[64] Mordaunt's outfit and overall performance in carrying the heavy Sword of State went viral online,[65] receiving praise from both benches of the Parliament.[66] Mordaunt attributed her strength to her previous navy training,[67] while disclosing that she took painkillers before the ceremony.[68]
On 6 October 2023, at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, Mordaunt delivered what many saw as a bizarre speech imploring those in attendance to "stand up and fight" 12 times during the speech, which then went viral on social media.[69][70]
In May 2024, before the2024 general election, Mordaunt's office produced a guide warning that conspiracy theories 'can pose a danger to democracy',[71] which included the'15-minute cities' conspiracy theory that had been quoted by some Conservatives. During the election campaign, Mordaunt attended a BBC debate hosted byMishal Husain which took place on 7 June, and also includedNigel Farage,Carla Denyer,Rhun ap Iorwerth,Daisy Cooper,Stephen Flynn andAngela Rayner.[72] The debate included exchanges between Mordaunt and Rayner over Labour's tax plans, and all the attendees criticised Sunak leaving the D-Day events early; Mordaunt said Sunak's choice to leave prematurely had been "completely wrong."[73][74] Another debate between these leaders took place on 13 June onITV, withJulie Etchingham as moderator.[75] The debate included further exchanges between Mordaunt and Rayner over Labour's tax plans.[76]
In the2024 general election, Mordaunt lost her Portsmouth North seat to Labour candidateAmanda Martin. Mordaunt was one of many high-profile Conservative politicians who lost their seats in Labour’s landslide victory, alongside Liz Truss,Grant Shapps,Jacob Rees-Mogg andJohnny Mercer.[2]
In July 2022, following the resignation ofBoris Johnson during theJuly 2022 government crisis, Mordaunt launched her bid to be the next Conservative Leader and consequently UK Prime Minister.[77][78] An early promotional video published by her campaign attracted criticism for featuring footage of former professionalsprinterOscar Pistorius, who murdered his girlfriendReeva Steenkamp in 2013.[78][79][80] AthleteJonnie Peacock requested to be removed from the same video published by her campaign.[81][82] Mordaunt's campaign edited the video to remove footage of Peacock and Pistorius,[79] and later issued a third edition of the video with a short clip of the murdered Labour MPJo Cox removed, following a request from Cox's family.[83]
In 2018, Mordaunt, the then Women and Equalities Minister, told MPs that "trans men are men, trans women are women" at the launch of a consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act.[84] Several Conservative activists criticised Mordaunt "for her pro-trans stance" according to reports by theDaily Telegraph published on 8 July 2022 the day afterBoris Johnson's resignation as Conservative party leader.[85] On the following day, shortly before she launched her bid for the leadership of the Conservative party, Mordaunt responded to the question "Do I know what a woman is?" by writing on Twitter: "I am biologically a woman. If I have a hysterectomy or mastectomy, I am still a woman. And I am legally a woman. Some people born male and who have been through the gender recognition process are also legally female. That DOES NOT mean they are biological women, like me."[86]The Spectator noted Mordaunt's earlier stance on trans issues, and was critical of what it called her "cowardice" in changing her publicly stated views, being "willing to toss them overboard at her earliest convenience" during her leadership campaign.[87][88]The Times described her as a "socially liberal Brexiteer".[89]
Mordaunt was one of eight contenders who achieved the necessary 20 nominations by 12 July deadline. Three other candidates had to drop out earlier that day.[90] On 20 July, Mordaunt was eliminated from the fifth round of the leadership competition after failing to secure sufficient support from Conservative MPs.[77] On 1 August 2022, Mordaunt declared her support forLiz Truss in the final round of the leadership contest.[91]
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Following the resignation of Truss during theOctober 2022 government crisis, Mordaunt declared she would seek nomination in theensuing Conservative Party leadership election. However, after only 27 MPs publicly backed her nomination, she pulled out of the election, allowingRishi Sunak to become Leader unopposed. She tweeted her withdrawal two minutes before the 2pm deadline on 24 October, by which candidates needed to have 100 nominations, and then issued a statement. Mordaunt was later re-appointed to her role by Sunak.[92][93]
In February 2025, Mordaunt confirmed to PoliticsHome that she sought a return to the House of Commons.[94] She reiterated this claim on the 2nd of October onPolitics Live, saying: “I’m filling out my application forms for candidates lists. I’d love to get back into Parliament, I think it’s an important job, but I’m back to square one and I’ve got to find a seat and I’ve got to do all of those things."[95] However, she distanced herself from a potential leadership bid, stating she supported current Conservative leaderKemi Badenoch[95]. Soon after, on the 7th of October, she declared her support for the UK withdrawing from theEuropean Court of Human Rights, a U-turn from her previous opposition to withdrawal in 2022. Mordaunt was present at the 2025 Conservative Party Conference, held from 5-8 October, with theTelegraph reporting she was a "popular figure at conference" where she sold out both of her books and styled herself a "national treasure and MP on sabbatical".[96] In October 2025, she confirmed that she would not defect toReform UK, claiming that, despite Nigel Farage calling her a "Roman Goddess", she opposed Reform's fiscal policies and their standing of pro-independence candidates in Scotland. She also claimed that she would "like the state to be smaller, not bigger like you would get under Reform."[97]
In April 2025, Mordaunt began a part-time paid role withBritish American Tobacco, as part of its transformation advisory board; she also started paid work with maritime technology company Sub Sea Craft.[98]
In July 2025, she co-authored a report into antisemitism in the UK with Labour peerLord Mann commissioned by theBoard of Deputies of British Jews.[99]
In September 2025, Mordaunt was appointed President of theSouthend-based charity,The Music Man Project, which provides music education and performance opportunities to people with disabilities. She succeeded formerSouthend West MPDavid Amess.[100]
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Mordaunt was a member of theRoyal Naval Reserve from 2010 until 2019.[1] From 2010 until 2015, she served as anacting sub-lieutenant (asubordinate officer without acommission), and was based atshore establishmentHMS King Alfred onWhale Island, Portsmouth.[101][102] In May 2015 she was placed onto Reserve 'List 6',[1] a category for personnel unable to meet any training commitment in excess of a year;[103] she had "no annual training commitment and received no remuneration" from the Royal Navy during this time.[1] She remained on List 6 until April 2019, at which point she left the RNR.[1] Mordaunt was granted thehonorary rank ofcommander in April 2019,[104] and then promoted to honorarycaptainRNR on 30 June 2021.[105]
In 2014, Mordaunt appeared on reality television programmeSplash!. Although her Labour opponents criticised the media appearance, questioning whether her focus should instead have been on her constituency work,[106] Mordaunt stated that the response was overwhelmingly positive and defended her appearance,[107] stating that she was donating all of her £10,000 appearance fee plus any additional sponsorship to charity: £7,000 towards the renovation of her locallido and the rest to four armed services charities.[108]
In the2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Mordaunt supportedBrexit.[109] During the referendum campaign, Mordaunt said the United Kingdom did not have a veto toTurkey joining the European Union.[110] Given this is a provision of theTreaty on European Union, Mordaunt was accused of 'lying' over the matter.[111][112] When challenged about her claim, Mordaunt said: "There is a provision for a veto but we could not have used it becauseDavid Cameron gave an undertaking that he would support their accession and having given that undertaking to aNATO country, he would not have been able to walk away."[113] She reiterated her defence of her 2016 comments during her Conservative Party leadership campaign in July 2022.[113]
Mordaunt voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland. She has said in the House of Commons that theNorthern Ireland protocol creates unique disadvantages for Northern Ireland.[114]
Mordaunt has often advocated that the BritishNational Health Service should fund the availability ofhomeopathy.[115][116] In 2010, she signed a ParliamentaryEarly Day Motion that claimed there was "overwhelming anecdotal evidence that homeopathy is effective" and called for the government to "maintain a policy of allowing health commissions to refer to homeopathic doctors and approved homeopaths".[115][117]
Since 2009, Labour, theConservative-Liberal Democrat coalition and Conservative governments have maintained a policy of "non-engagement" with theMuslim Council of Britain due to allegations the group does not represent the British Muslim community and claims that members of the council had made "favourable" remarks about extremists in the past.[118][119]
As Paymaster General, Mordaunt met with the Secretary General of the MCB,Zara Mohammed, which Alan Mendoza of theHenry Jackson Society described as "shocking". A government spokesperson toldThe Jewish Chronicle: "The UK government has a long-standing policy of not engaging with the MCB and that has not changed."[118]
In June 2020, Mordaunt produced a proposal for a pair of ships with the primary role of specialising in trade, research, and humanitarian work. The vessels were to be funded by private, research, commercial and charitable funds, in partnership with the UK'sOverseas Development Assistance budget. The vessels could also be used as "cost effective and secure" accommodation for members of the royal family on visits, so would effectively be successor to theRoyal YachtBritannia which had been decommissioned in 1997. Mordaunt said of it: “We know that industry would also support as would a growing coalition of commercial and trade ventures, research organisations, shipbuilders and ship support companies, maritime training organisations and medical and health projects”. The director of the Global Britain Programme at theHenry Jackson Society said: "These new ships will help project Britain's image around the world".[120]
In June 2020, in response to vandalism ofwar memorials, Mordaunt stated: "I would like to suggest that for some found guilty of vandalising such memorials they might benefit from some time spent with our service personnel – perhaps at abattle camp. That might give them a new appreciation of just what these people go through for their sakes."[121]
Mordaunt has been a member of theBritish Astronomical Association,[122][123] and, as of 2013[update], was chair of theWymering Manor Trust in Portsmouth.[124] She ran the League of Friends visiting team at theQueen Alexandra Hospital inPortsmouth for eight years.[9] She is also a patron of theMusic Man Project, a charity that provides musical opportunities to people with learning disabilities.[125] Following theRussian invasion of Ukraine, she took a Ukrainian refugee into her home.[126]
Mordaunt met Paul Murray as a student at theUniversity of Reading and married him in 1999, but they divorced the following year.[127][128] In 2016, she ended her relationship with businessman Ian Lyon, a part-time classical singer andPortsmouth City Council Councillor.[129][130] Mordaunt's hobbies includeastronomy, painting, dance and music.[131][5][9] She owns fourBurmese cats.[132] In July 2022,Hampshire Police said they were investigating death threats sent to Mordaunt. She strengthened her security after a letter was sent to her constituency office threatening to "shoot her in the head" and "kill her family".[133][134]
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: Dame Commander of theMost Excellent Order of the British Empire (13 June 2025)
:King Charles III Coronation Medalour patron the Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt
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