Readers should recall that the Tory leadership candidate Penny Mordaunt is best known for persistently purveying falsehoods during the 2016 EU referendum campaign. During a TV interview with Andrew Marr, playing on fears of mass immigration, she claimed that Britain would not be able to stop Turkey joining the EU.
As a former EU ambassador to Turkey, I can confirm that Turkey was not and is not in line for EU membership. Its membership of the EU customs union does not grant it free movement of people. Britain always had a veto over any aspiring member, and if Mordaunt had previously had any credibility, her infamous dishonesty about Turkey destroyed it. I thought part of the reason for ditching Boris Johnson was his habit of lying.
Michael Lake
EU official and diplomat, 1973-2001
• Penny Mordaunt’s choice of music for her video (Blue movies: our film critic reviews the Tory leader campaign videos so far, 11 July) is better known as Jupiter – a gas giant. Tells you all you need to know about her.
Michael Peel
London
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