ANDREW PIERCE profiles Penny Mordaunt 

As a former magician’s assistant, Penny Mordaunt must wish she could brandish a little wand, say ‘abracadabra’ and wave away all the Government’s problems.

She earnt money while at sixth-form college by working as a helper to a one-time president of The Magic Circle.

They performed in hotels, Army barracks and golf clubs. Often ‘sawn in half and chopped to bits’ by illusionist Will Ayling, this was good preparation for her new life in a beleaguered Cabinet.

Her then boss’s signature trick was called ‘Zigzag’, where he pushed large steel blades through various ‘body parts’, giving the illusion that the young Penny’s stomach was taken out.

Penny Mordaunt leaves Downing Street after being appointed Penny Mordaunt as the new international development secretary

The 44-year-old is best known for having appeared in the reality TV show Splash! in 2014

The 44-year-old is best known for having appeared in the reality TV show Splash! in 2014

However, the 44-year-old is best known for having appeared in the reality TV show Splash! in 2014 when she wore swimsuits. The series featured celebrities being taught to dive by British Olympian Tom Daley.

Other contestants included Gemma Collins from ITV’s The Only Way Is Essex.

Inevitably, critics complained that the role was undignified for an MP.

For example, TV presenter Lorraine Kelly called her ‘an attention-seeking wannabe in a skimpy swimming costume’ and said she would prefer her to ‘concentrate on trying to get us out of this economic hell-hole than shamelessly promoting [herself] on reality TV.’

And yet the Portsmouth North MP and Navy reservist had gone on Splash! so her £10,000 appearance fee could go towards repairs to a lido in her constituency and Armed Forces charities.

Self-deprecatingly, she said: ‘I have the elegance and drive of a paving slab, but my Navy training has certainly given me the guts to take on the challenge head on.’

Asked if she regretted that public interest focused on her cleavage, she joked: ‘I could probably hold Her Majesty’s Stationery Office under my bosoms.’

Miss Mordaunt in her Navy uniform holds one of a pledges after Coppafeel founder Kris Hallenga launched her RethinkCancer Manifesto in the House of Commons in 2014

Miss Mordaunt in her Navy uniform holds one of a pledges after Coppafeel founder Kris Hallenga launched her RethinkCancer Manifesto in the House of Commons in 2014

Penny Mordaunt adjusts her helmet before watching a live firing exercise by members of the Infantry Battle School at the Sennybridge Training Area in the Brecon Beacons, Wales

Penny Mordaunt adjusts her helmet before watching a live firing exercise by members of the Infantry Battle School at the Sennybridge Training Area in the Brecon Beacons, Wales

Certainly, the programme turned her from an obscure backbencher to one of the best recognised faces on the Tory backbenches.

Born in Devon and brought up in the naval town, Mordaunt is from an Armed Forces family with her father serving in the Parachute Regiment. Indeed, she was referred to as ‘HMS Pepperpot’ after the nickname of Second World War cruiser HMS Penelope.

An ardent Brexiteer, she was pleased that 58 per cent of voters in Portsmouth – like most of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight – voted Leave in the referendum.

Mordaunt is the only female MP to be a Royal Naval Reservist (serving at HMS King Alfred on Whale Island) – and she wore her uniform to Lady Thatcher’s funeral.

Even at primary school, she was an admirer of Mrs T. At the age of six, she had perfected an impression of the PM which led her teachers to write Mrs Thatcher into the script of the school’s production of Dick Whittington.

Educated at a Catholic comprehensive, Miss Mordaunt has praised Mrs Thatcher’s ‘ability to escape the normal bounds of politics and penetrate our day-to-day lives’.

The Portsmouth North MP and Navy reservist had gone on Splash! so her £10,000 appearance fee could go towards repairs to a lido in her constituency and Armed Forces charities

The Portsmouth North MP and Navy reservist had gone on Splash! so her £10,000 appearance fee could go towards repairs to a lido in her constituency and Armed Forces charities

Tragically, when she was 15, her mother, a special needs teacher, died of breast cancer.

Her twin brother dropped out of school and went to work in a factory. 

Their dad was forced to work excessive hours to pay the bills and was later diagnosed with cancer but recovered. 

Her youngest brother was only nine when their mum died and Penny became the family carer.

Miss Mordaunt was the first person from her family to go to university – studying philosophy at Reading.

She spent a year working in orphanages in Romania and then took a series of jobs: director of communications for the National Lottery, head of campaigns for Diabetes UK, and head of foreign press for George W Bush’s 2000 and 2004 presidential election campaigns.

An ardent Brexiteer, she was pleased that 58 per cent of voters in Portsmouth – like most of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight – voted Leave in the referendum

An ardent Brexiteer, she was pleased that 58 per cent of voters in Portsmouth – like most of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight – voted Leave in the referendum

Also, while working for the Freight Transport Association, she supported British truckers during blockades by French unions.

Having joined the Tory Party after university, she was selected in 2003 as a parliamentary candidate for Portsmouth North.

Her family links, however, are with the Labour Party. She is related to Philip Snowden, Labour Chancellor in the 1920s and 30s.

Although she failed to win the seat from Labour in the 2005 general election, she triumphed in 2010. After her raised profile in Splash! her majority soared to more than 10,000 in 2015.

Her family links, however, are with the Labour Party. She is related to Philip Snowden, Labour Chancellor in the 1920s and 30s

Her family links, however, are with the Labour Party. She is related to Philip Snowden, Labour Chancellor in the 1920s and 30s

An independent spirit, her promotion prospects were seen to have suffered in 2012 because she rebelled against Lib Dem-inspired plans by the Tory-led Coalition to reform the House of Lords and introduce elections for 120 members.

In a night of high political drama, Miss Mordaunt was shouted at by the government deputy chief whip who seized her by the arm outside the division lobby.

But she stuck to her guns despite reports (which she denied) that she had been made to cry. How apt that she had been nicknamed HMS Pepperpot, because, she said she had an ‘ability to endure massive amounts of shelling and remain afloat and able to return fire.’ One of her most memorable parliamentary successes was a speech which opened the 2014 debate on the Queen’s Speech.

She said: ‘I have benefited from some excellent training by the Royal Navy, but on one occasion I felt that it was not as bespoke as it might have been.

‘Fascinating though it was, I felt that the lecture and practical demonstration on how to care for the penis and testicles in the field failed to appreciate that some of us attending had been issued with the incorrect kit.’

Shortly afterwards she also mischievously used the ‘unladylike’ word ‘c**k’ in a Commons debate on poultry welfare as part of a challenge from Navy colleagues.

Her first government post was as a junior minister in the Communities department and in 2015 she was the first woman to be made a Minister of State for the Armed Forces.

Penny Mordaunt arrives at the home of contender Andrea Leadsom before a campaign rally for the latter's Tory leadership bid in 2016

Penny Mordaunt arrives at the home of contender Andrea Leadsom before a campaign rally for the latter’s Tory leadership bid in 2016

After Theresa May became PM, she was appointed Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions.

An early marriage failed and last year she broke up with her long-term partner, a part-time opera singer who breeds Burmese cats. They had eight cats but no children.

Brimming with self-confidence, she’s used her looks to her advantage, posing for a photo-shoot of ‘Cameron Cuties’ of the celebrity magazine Vanity Fair in 2010.

With her flair for publicity and her impeccable Brexit credentials, Penny Mordaunt will hope to be able to navigate her way through the choppy waters of Cabinet life.

But she will be well aware of the fate of her namesake, HMS Penelope… which was sunk in 1944 by German torpedoes.

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