“She couldn’t have a tea party in Holland Park!” Ex-boss reveals he despaired of working with future Prime Minister Penny Mordaunt in a West London borough because she was so ‘incompetent’
- Lord Moylan said Mordaunt quit the council role because she ‘couldn’t do the job’
- The former diplomat was the deputy leader of the board of Kensington and Chelsea
- Penny Mordaunt is the bookies’ favorite to win the race as Tory leader
Lord Moylan said that the Tory leadership hopeful quitting role as head of communications for Kensington and Chelsea Council in London because she “couldn’t do the job.”
His intervention came after the former Brexit Minister Lord Frost said he had asked in talks with the EU last year to replace Miss Mordaunt as his deputy minister.
Penny Mordaunt quit her job because she was so “incompetent” she couldn’t host a tea party in a park, “the Tory equivalent of ap***-up at a brewery,” her former boss said yesterday (pictured during her visit). time in the role of head of communications for Kensington and Chelsea Council in London)
Conservative colleague Lord Moylan (pictured), a former diplomat who was deputy leader of the council when Miss Mordaunt was hired in June 2001, yesterday claimed she had ‘no idea’ and no ‘grip’
Marine ‘almost threw her out’ during exams
Last night, pressure mounted on Penny Mordaunt to explain her record as a naval officer.
Senior officers reacted furiously in yesterday’s Daily Mail over claims that she had “fighted in the navy” when she is only an honorary officer.
Promotion: Mordaunt in uniform last year
Now defense sources suggested she was made an honorary captain because she would be evicted from the reserves. A source said: ‘I think the Marine Reservist’s story is unfair… she can wear the uniform, but she would never be called up.
“She was given an honorary title when she became Secretary of the Armed Forces because she was about to be evicted.” They said she had ‘timed out taking the relevant exams… So everyone was polite and made her an honorary member’.
A naval source said, “She had a set time to attend the Britannia Royal Naval College, but didn’t.”
Miss Mordaunt was asked for comment.
Conservative colleague Lord Moylan, a former diplomat who was deputy leader of the council when Miss Mordaunt was hired in June 2001, claimed yesterday that she had “no idea” and no “grip”.
“We hired her as communications director and… she was incompetent,” he said.
‘My memory is that she was never on top of anything, not even to the extent that she organized the Tory equivalent of an ap***-up in a brewery or a tea party in Holland Park. She couldn’t even do that.
‘There was no leadership or management grip at all. She had no idea. She didn’t stay because she couldn’t do the job.’
The Tory grandee, who served as Boris Johnson’s chief airport adviser when he was mayor of London, said Miss Mordaunt left the role in 2003 after concerns about her performance. He added: “Some people have said this happened 20 years ago and maybe she’s changed, maybe she’s grown up.
“But it is clear that – echoing what Lord Frost said – she has not devoted the intervening decades to self-improvement.” When asked why he’d chosen to speak out, he said, “I saved it in case she got too far, but when I saw Lord Frost say something, I thought I should piggyback on his comments.
“I didn’t do it out of spite. I didn’t because I didn’t like her. I just don’t think she should be prime minister.’
Lord Frost said he had “serious concerns” about the Secretary of State for International Trade, Miss Mordaunt, taking the top job. “I had the feeling that she had not mastered the details needed in the negotiations last year. She was not fully responsible, she was not always visible. Sometimes I didn’t even know where she was.’
Miss Mordaunt said yesterday that she was not afraid to become Prime Minister. She defended her inconspicuous position in government, claiming that in recent years she had “blown down” in her subordinate ministerial positions.
“I’ve just started work, but I’ve thought long and hard about what this country needs,” she said. “I really feel compelled to do this. It would be a great honor to be Prime Minister.”
Miss Mordaunt is the bookies’ favorite to win the race. A source on her campaign said: ‘Penny is the best placed candidate to lead this country, and she is grateful for the support of colleagues in the public, private and charitable sectors, as well as the military.
“We don’t think this game will be well served by blue-on-blue attacks.”