An former councillor has been convicted of stalking the former Conservative MP and leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt.
Edward Brandt, 61, bombarded the former defence secretary with emails and voicemails and tried to jump the security barrier at her office.
Mordaunt, 52, cried as she told a court she feared for her own safety as a result of Brandt’s persistent behaviour.
The politician said she had to get colleagues to walk her to and from her car, change her office security and stop using public transport.
Brandt, a former councillor for East Hampshire district council, claimed he was not going to commit sexual violence and his only interest in Mordaunt was purely political and congratulatory.
After a five-day trial, Brandt cried into his hands as he was was convicted by a jury of stalking and acquitted of a more serious offence of stalking involving serious alarm or distress.
Brandt, who was living in Freshwater, on the Isle of Wight, at the time, stalked the former Portsmouth North MP between September 2023 and May 2024. He went to Mordaunt’s office in Portsmouth in December 2023 and tried to jump the barrier, before being stopped by security, the court heard.
The jury heard that 10 of his messages referenced wanting to shake her hand.
Mordaunt said it had taken a toll on her entire team and her foster child, whom she had to tell not to open the front door out of fear Brandt would come to her address.
Mordaunt was the MP for Portsmouth North between 2010 and 2024 and served as leader of the House of Commons in the final two years. She lost her seat to Amanda Martin in 2024.
Brandt, a divorced father-of-two who now lives in Lymington, Hampshire, will be sentenced in January next year.
Mordaunt said in evidence: “It is clear that this is not a normal pattern of behaviour and it is obsessive. I became increasingly concerned about his behaviour in the wake of his visit to my office.
“He was repeatedly saying how chivalrous and gentlemanly he was being in his approaches that I think it was an indication of his frustration and a true indication of why he wanted to meet with me. I found them obsessive and creepy.
“There was no doubt in my mind that he was a potential danger to me. It was clear to me that his motivation was not just to get an autograph or shake my hand.
“There were no threats of violence but his actions and messages to me were disturbing. The legacy of what he did was very profound.”
She added: “I believe that this man is a real threat to me and still is.
“He was fixated on me and the way I looked. He makes reference about my appearance. It is very clear that his intention is to have a personal and intimate relationship.
“He has been very keen to stress how polite and chivalrous he is being when he has been anything but that.”
Brandt said during a police interview in May 2024: “I thought that her witness statement was fundamentally inaccurate and I felt aggrieved by it.
“I am not about to commit sexual violence or stalk or sit on her doorstep. It is totally harmless.”
