Killer Oscar Pistorius appears in Penny Mordaunt campaign clip as Team GB Paralympian asks to be removed
Jonnie Peacock asked to be removed from the Tory leadership hopeful’s glossy campaign video not long after it went live
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.A British Paralympic gold medalist asked to be cut from Penny Mordaunt’s Tory leadership campaign video – which also showed convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius.
Jonnie Peacock was shown winning the 100m sprint in the London 2012 Paralympics in the clip launching Ms Mordaunt’s bid, when it was first posted on Sunday morning.
He was seen outpacing and later being congratulated by South African paralympian Pistorius, who is currently in jail for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Mr Peacock replied to Ms Mordaunt’s bombastic clip – set to the patriotic rugby anthem “World in Union” – on Twitter.
“I officially request to be removed from this video…. Anything but [Tory] blue please,” he wrote, adding a smiling face emoji.
A number of social media users replied with clapping emojis and “well said”.
Eyebrows had also been raised over Pistorius being shown in the initial campaign clip, with many asking on Twitter why the convicted murderer was included at all.
Ms Mordaunt later tweeted out another version of the campaign video, which cut out the segment showing both Paralympians.
The international trade secretary entered the Tory leadership race on Sunday with the video, saying the position “needs to become a little less about the leader and a lot more about the ship”.
The Plymouth MP’s video also featured Boris Johnson making the joke “Let’s get Breakfast done”, as well as images of Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill.
She has joined eight other candidates in the Tory leadership race, including former chancellor Rishi Sunak and former health secretary Sajid Javid, who both held their government roles before sensationally resigning last week.
Others include transport secretary Grant Shapps, chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, former health secretary Jeremy Hunt and foreign affairs committee chair Tom Tugendhat.
All are now putting forward their case to be the next Tory leader after Mr Johnson announced he would be stepping down last week amid a widespread Tory rebellion.
Brexit, tax cuts and transgender rights are among the issues the hopefuls have been setting out their positions on.
Ms Mordaunt has been approached for comment.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments