Penny Mordaunt backs Jeremy Hunt as Britain’s next prime minister

DEFENCE secretary Penny Mordaunt has thrown her weight behind Jeremy Hunt to become Britain’s next prime minister.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The Portsmouth North MP spoke out during a press conference in London where she endorsed the foreign secretary as the future PM.

The Tory high-flier was the latest top MP to back Mr Hunt’s leadership bid, following in the footsteps of work and pensions secretary, Amber Rudd.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Speaking to reporters, Ms Mordaunt said she was confident Mr Hunt could bring a ‘divided nation’ together.

‘The next leader of the Conservative Party has one hell of a shift,’ she warned.’They have to deliver Brexit swiftly, orderly and well.

‘They have to restore faith in cabinet, in government, in parliament and our politics.

READ MORE: Fareham MP backs

‘And they have to grip the challenges of our times and they must give our country and its citizens pride and confidence by bringing them together.’

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said she ‘trusted’ Mr Hunt on Brexit, praising his ‘strong values’ and ‘consistently good judgement’ during his time in office.

Ms Mordaunt also highlighted Mr Hunt’s business acumen and said he was ‘the guy’ who delivered more funding for the NHS.

And while praising him for ‘delivering more funding’ for the NHS, Ms Mordaunt insisted he was also the man who could ‘plug’ the funding blackhole in the Ministry of Defence’s budget.

‘My name will be on Jeremy Hunt’s nomination papers today because I believe he has the experience the values and a plan to do all of those things,’ she added.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Hunt is one of 11 candidates in the running to become the next leader, following Theresa May’s resignation on Friday.

These will be whittled down to just two front runners during a Tory vote on Thursday, with the result expected later this month.

Speaking after Ms Mordaunt, Mr Hunt said he remained focused on one goal – delivering Brexit.

‘Our failure to deliver Brexit has put our country and our party in grave peril,’ he said. ‘The leadership I offer is based on one, simple truth: without Brexit there will be no Conservative government and maybe no Conservative Party.’

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.