Penny Mordaunt has announced she is once again running to be the next leader of the Conservative Party after receiving "encouragement" from her peers. The Leader of the House of Commons, who was the first MP to declare themselves as a contender, on Friday afternoon tweeted: "I've been encouraged by support from colleagues who want a fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest.
"I'm running to be the leader of the Conservative Party and your Prime Minister – to unite our country, deliver our pledges and win the next GE." According to a Commons source, Penny held talks with Jeremy Hunt and assured him he can stay on as Chancellor if she becomes Britain's Prime Minister following Liz Truss ' resignation on Thursday.
As of Monday, Ms Mordaunt appears far behind against favourite Rishi Sunak, but allies insist they are "confident" she will hit the target. In the first leadership race of the year over the summer after Boris Johnson was forced to quit, a determined Penny ended up coming in third place - despite being a favourite to win with bookies at the start. But who is Penny?
Here we take a look at the politician who appears to have many strings to her bow - from her position as a Royal Naval Reservist to her time belly-flopping on ITV 's Splash!
The 49-year-old became Leader of the House of Commons under Liz Truss' Government. This means she is currently responsible for delivery of the Government's legislative programme and chairs the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Cabinet Committee.
Previously, she was a ministerial disability champion and Minister of State for Trade Policy and has been an MP for Portsmouth North since 2010.
In May 2019, she became the first woman to be appointed Secretary of State for Defence, replacing Gavin Williamson.
Following this, in the 2020 cabinet reshuffle, Penny re-entered government as Paymaster General and has largely kept her head down since, until recent times.
The Royal Navy reservist, who at one time was a magician's assistant in her youth, has supported Brexit while she opposed bids to oust Theresa May in 2018.
Politics aside, Penny, who was named after a Navy ship, does appear to have a sense of humour.
In 2011 she topped a website poll of the sexiest female MPs but she might be best known to the public for taking part in Tom Daley’s Saturday night diving show Splash! in 2014.
Speaking to the Mirror at the time, she said: "I have the elegance and drive of a paving slab, but my navy training has certainly given me the guts to take on the challenge head on.”
She gave away the reported £10,000 appearance fee, with £7,000 going towards the renovation of her local lido while the rest went to four Forces charities.
Penny also made headlines the same year after using the word "cock" six times in a Commons debate as part of a game with fellow reservists.
Explaining the bet, Ms Mordaunt said: "When I was at Dartmouth doing my reservist training some of my marine training officers thought it would be a good idea to try and break the ladylike persona that I maintained throughout the whole of my course by getting me to yell particular rude words during the most gruelling part of our training, and I’m happy to say that they failed in that."
She added: "But during our mess dinner at the end of the course I was fined for a misdemeanour, and the fine was to say a particular word, the abbreviation of cockerel, several times during a speech on the floor of the House of Commons and mention all of the officer’s names present."
When it comes to her love life, she met and married Paul Murray in 1999 when they were both mature students at Reading University, but this ended in divorce the following year.
Later in 2016 she parted from long-term partner Ian Lyon, who bred Burmese cats. They reportedly shared eight cats together and Penny has no children.
In her early years, Penny was educated at a comprehensive Catholic school and was the first in her family to go to university.
When she was 15, her mother died of breast cancer. Penny's twin brother left school, so she became his prime caregiver. The following year her father was diagnosed with cancer, from which he recovered. To pay her way through sixth-form college, Penny worked as a magician's assistant for a member of the Portsmouth and District Magic Circle, Will Ayling, author of The Art of Illusion and Oriental Conjuring and Magic.
Despite her own political allegiances, her family’s ties were all to the Labour party. She's related to Philip Snowden, the first Labour chancellor, and George Lansbury, who ran the party in the 1930s.
Penny will need to secure 100 MP nominations by 2pm on Monday to get on the ballot paper.
Only a maximum of three MPs will be able to get on the ballot paper, before being knocked down to two who go to a vote of party members.
