IN FOR A PENNY
Penny Mordaunt appointed as Britain’s first ever female Defence Secretary after Gavin Williamson was fired
The popular, plain-speaking Brexiteer was an obvious fit for the job
SPLASH! star Penny Mordaunt lat night became Britain's first female Defence Secretary.
The popular, plain-speaking Brexiteer was an obvious fit for the job given she is a Royal Navy reservist, holding the rank of sub-lieutenant. Her last deployment to sea was in 2013.
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She is the daughter of a former paratrooper and she was even named after the Leander-class frigate HMS Penelope - which played a key role in defeating the Argentines in the Falklands War.
Penny, 46, also represents a constituency packed with service voters in Portsmouth North.
She has enjoyed a steady rise up the pecking order and will move to the Ministry of Defence after 18 months in charge of Britain’s bloated £14 billion a year foreign aid budget, where her main challenge was dealing with the fallout from the Oxfam sex scandal.
And her latest promotion will propel the ambitious minister’s chances of reaching the very top.
EARLY YEARS AND TV
Ms Mordaunt had a difficult upbringing after her mother died of breast cancer when she was 15.
The same year her father was diagnosed with cancer - leaving her and her twin brother to care for their younger brother.
She paid her way through college by taking a job as a magician’s assistant, which involved her being ‘sawn in half’.
Penny enjoyed a colourful time as a backbench MP - and first won notoriety outside the House of Commons for being on reality TV diving show Splash!.
Despite an early KO for a spectacular belly flop, her pluck won her respect from fellow MPs and constituents after she gave her £10,000 appearance fee to local and military charities.
PENNY'S FIRSTS
At Westminster, three years ago Penny became only the second woman to propose the loyal address after the Queen’s Speech — and the first to talk balls.
She had MPs in stitches recalling the time on her naval training she was part of a course on caring for her “penis and testicles”.
“Fascinating though it was,” she said, “I felt the lecture and practical demonstration failed to appreciate some of us were issued with the incorrect kit.”
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But her use of colourful language came back to bite her when she confessed to saying “cock” six times and “lay” or “laid” five times in a Commons debate to win a bet with Navy friends.
David Cameron promoted Penny into the Government in 2014, making her first a Local Government minister and then an Armed Forces minister — which she called her dream job. Theresa May moved her to Minister for the Disabled when she became PM.
Passionate Brexiteer Penny has committed one major political gaffe, when she wrongly claimed Britain would not be able to veto Turkey joining the EU, which got her a furious dressing-down from then boss Mr Cameron.
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Tory MP Penny Mordaunt with an impressive backflip off diving board on ITV's Splash
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