Backlash at Penny Mordaunt’s shift in trans storm: Liz Truss ally claims leadership hopeful who came second in first vote is ‘telling lies’ over changing views

• Tory sources claim the international trade secretary is lying on trans rights
• She has previously been a trans supporter, telling MPs ‘trans women are women’
• Speaking at her campaign launch she said she is the one ‘Labour fear the most’

Penny Mordaunt was accused of shifting her views on trans rights to appeal to Tory members last night as she attempted to reverse her reputation as a ‘woke warrior’.

As Miss Mordaunt became the bookies’ favourite, rival campaigns suggested she was concealing her true beliefs on trans rights in order to win the race to be prime minister.

One ally of Liz Truss said: ‘[She’s] claiming she never pushed trans rights when she was equalities minister when there are people in government who know that is not true. She is telling lies.’

Formally launching her campaign yesterday, the international trade minister attempted to address her views by referencing Margaret Thatcher’s quote about her right hand man Willie Whitelaw

But sources in rival campaigns say she is a supporter of trans rights and is hiding that in order to be elected as the next PM

Formally launching her campaign yesterday, the international trade minister attempted to address the issue by making an extraordinary reference to Margaret Thatcher’s quote about her right hand man Willie Whitelaw.

Asked for her views on gender, she said: ‘I think it was Margaret Thatcher who said ‘Every prime minister needs a Willie’. A woman like me doesn’t have one.’ 

Asked to define the word ‘woman’, the Portsmouth North MP pointed to biological differences between males and females.

‘I’m a woman. I’m biologically a woman. And I can tell you that if you’ve been in the Royal Navy and you’ve competed physically against men, you understand the biological difference between men and women,’ she said.

Miss Mordaunt has previously told MPs at the House of Commons dispatch box: ‘Trans men are men and trans women are women.’

Yesterday, she faced criticism from trans rights activists who accused her of reversing her stance to win over Tory party members. 

Ben Cohen, chief executive of LGBTQ+ website Pink News, said: ‘I think that it is OK for politicians to change their mind, in this case it would be disappointing but own up to it is all I say.’

Meanwhile, one source from a rival leadership campaign said: ‘She can’t say out loud that men can get pregnant and women can have penises because she may be facing Tory membership soon, but they should know that that’s what she thinks.’

In the past, some Conservative commentators have suggested that Miss Mordant’s views on trans rights might have ‘ruined’ her chances of ever becoming PM.

But a YouGov snap poll of 876 Tory members carried out over Tuesday and yesterday found 27 per cent say that they would favour Miss Mordaunt as Boris Johnson’s replacement.

Former minister Kemi Badenoch was second on 15 per cent, while Rishi Sunak and Miss Truss were tied on 13 per cent in the poll, which is not representative of members. 

Speaking at her launch yesterday morning, Miss Mordaunt told Tory MPs that she is the candidate ‘Labour fear the most’.

The former defence secretary launched her pitch to be the next prime minister promising to return to traditional Conservative values of ‘low tax, small state and personal responsibility’.

Miss Mordaunt said her key economic policy would be that debt as a percentage of GDP, a measure of national income, would fall ‘over time’. 

She has pledged a 50 per cent cut in VAT on fuel to help ease the cost of living squeeze but has not gone as far as others in the race to offer tax cuts.

And the naval reservist stood by the Conservative manifesto commitment to meet the Nato target for defence spending of 2 per cent of GDP and increase it by 0.5 per cent above inflation every year.

The long-term Brexit backer said the Government supply side reforms would yield a ‘Brexit dividend’ on investment, infrastructure and innovation.

She promised to put ‘power back into the hands of parents’ through personal budgets which allow every child access to their entitlement to subsidised childcare at any time prior to them starting school.

Miss Mordaunt also addressed sexist attacks against her from within her party by individuals trying to scupper her campaign.

‘Well, they’re very sensible people because I’m a threat to their campaign,’ she said.

Last night she came second in the first round of hustings, securing the backing of 67 Tory MPs, beaten only by Mr Sunak on 88.

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