Police probe death threat to Penny Mordaunt who was told she would be ‘shot in the head’ and ‘her family killed’ if she didn’t quit as MP during Tory leadership race

The menacing message was sent to the Portsmouth North MP during the final days of her campaign to become Conservative Party boss – before she was voted out of the contest on Wednesday.

It came amid a flurry of bad press and scathing criticism from supporters of the trade minister’s leadership rivals, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, which were branded a ruthless ‘black ops’ campaign by Ms Mordaunt’s followers.

Detectives are now investigating the threat to the 49-year-old former defence secretary, which was laid out in a chilling letter to Ms Mordaunt’s constituency office, at the Lakeside business park, in North Harbour.

Officers from Hampshire Constabulary visited Ms Mordaunt’s HQ on Friday afternoon to interview her about the letter and carry out a security check.

A police spokesman said: ‘At 11.50am on July 22, we received a report of a letter containing threats to kill a Portsmouth woman and her family which was sent to her office in Lakeside, North Harbour.

‘We attended and safeguarding measures were put in place to minimise the risk to the woman and her family, employees and the wider community.

‘Our enquiries into this incident are ongoing and it has been referred to the Parliamentary Liaison Team.

‘We take the safeguarding of our MPs incredibly seriously and there are robust systems in place to ensure they can carry out their job safely.’

Sources have directly blamed the negative press reports and heightened public profile of Ms Mordaunt during her leadership bid for the death threat.

Ms Mordaunt added: ‘I’m very grateful to the police for their swift action.’

The news comes amid heightened fears over MP safety, following the assassination of Sir David Amess, who was brutally stabbed to death in a church in Essex last year, and murder of Labour MP Jo Cox, who stabbed 15 times and shot three times outside her constituency surgery in Birstall, near Leeds, in 2016.

Donna Jones, police and crime commissioner for Hampshire – who supported Ms Mordaunt’s campaign to be Tory leader – was appalled by threats faced by the city MP.

Mrs Jones told The News: ‘The threats both online and in person towards public figures are growing and getting worse.

‘The death of Jo Cox and Sir David Amess reminds us that often these violent attacks are linked to people who are suffering with mental health issues.

‘The threats made to Penny Mordaunt are deeply worrying and it’s right that Hampshire Constabulary looks into the threat fully.’

The crime chief’s comments came as she today revealed how people have threatened to ‘slit her throat’ during her time in political office.

‘In March 2020 someone tried to break into my house in the middle of the night,’ Mrs Jones revealed. ‘He was armed with bottles of bleach and glass, which police suspected he would use to attack me.

‘He was banging on my front door for over 15 minutes and was arrested at my home.’

She added: ‘Online threats have involved someone threatening to “cut my throat” twice on a Portsmouth Political forum social media page.

‘I’ve had nails in my car tyres, three months consecutively; I’ve had people fire gas canisters at me during public meeting - I thought I was being shot at. It was one of the most frightening things that has ever happened to me.

‘Being a public figure is not easy, which is why so many people are put off doing it.’