Penny Mordaunt urged to reveal if she is a traitor or faithful amid Tory plots
Labour shadow Commons leader Lucy Powell raised questions about Ms Mordaunt’s ‘bizarre’ defence of the Prime Minister.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt was urged to reveal if she is a traitor or a faithful after being accused of giving a “bizarre” tribute to Rishi Sunak akin to misdirection efforts in the hit BBC show.
Labour raised questions about Ms Mordaunt’s recent defence of the Prime Minister at the despatch box after Tory former minister Sir Simon Clarke called for Mr Sunak to be sacked.
Shadow Commons leader Lucy Powell described the tribute as “bizarre”, and suggested it was an attempt to redirect attention away from newspaper reports of leadership plots within the Tory ranks.
The Labour frontbencher compared it to the Traitors, the BBC reality programme in which a small group of “traitors” have to remain undetected as they plot to remove a wider group of “faithfuls” in order to win a cash prize.
I can’t let this session go by without referring to the Leader’s rather bizarre, unprompted, over-the-top, glowing tribute of the Prime Minister she made here last week. I feel the lady does protest too much. It was as if she was at the Traitors’ roundtable desperately wanting everyone to believe she really is a faithful
It comes after The Guardian newspaper reported that Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch is a member of a Tory WhatsApp group called “evil plotters”, a name her allies insist is a tongue-in-cheek joke.
Ms Powell told the Commons: “I can’t let this session go by without referring to the Leader’s rather bizarre, unprompted, over-the-top, glowing tribute of the Prime Minister she made here last week.
“I feel the lady does protest too much. It was as if she was at the Traitors’ roundtable desperately wanting everyone to believe she really is a faithful.
“But it seems the traitors sit among them still, secretly planning their next kill. The evil plotters trying to avoid banishment so they can win the prize.
“So, can she reveal herself today? Because we all want to know, and perhaps some of her colleagues can too.
“Or perhaps they should just do us all a favour and cut straight to the end game and let the public decide, because, quite honestly, as much as I love The Traitors show, this is not a TV show and their antics have real-life consequences.”
Ms Mordaunt did not directly answer the accusations, but instead insisted that she and the Conservative Party had been “faithful” to the British public.
Responding to Labour, the Commons Leader said: “I will make the case that we are faithfuls on this side of the House.
“We have been faithfuls in our obligations to the British public in strengthening our borders, we have brought forward legislation that the Opposition have voted against on one recent Bill over 70 times.
“We have been faithful to them in our promises, we have been faithful to them in delivering on their decision to leave the EU, we had that landmark anniversary this week.”
Ms Mordaunt added that the Government had stuck with the “democratic result” of the EU referendum, and cast aspersions at opposition MPs who had sought to “campaign for a second referendum”.
She went on: “We have been through tough times, but whether it is our plans to level up communities such as Teesside, which the Members opposite seem to be objecting to, or whether it is maximising our newfound freedoms to control our destiny and our borders, or to open up more opportunities for the wealth of talent and creativity of our citizens, our plan for Britain is working.
“Britain is on the right course, we have been faithful to our promises to the British people. Labour have not, they would turn us back, on the EU, on union reform, on tax hikes and many more.”
Commons leader Ms Mordaunt had given a staunch defence of the Prime Minister ahead of the previous week’s business statement, telling MPs he “doesn’t just get Britain, he represents the best of Great Britain”.
This followed claims by Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer that Mr Sunak “simply doesn’t get Britain” because of his wealthy background, while Tory backbencher Sir Simon had suggested the Prime Minister “does not get what Britain needs” as he called for him to be replaced.
Elsewhere at business questions, Ms Mordaunt continued to criticise the SNP as she told the Commons: “There are not enough hours in Government time or hours that the chairman of the Backbench Business Committee … to give this House (the chance) to fully examine and debate the level of incompetency that the Scottish Government is so renowned for.”