Penny Mordaunt has come under fire from allies of Liz Truss as the Tory leadership contest became increasingly bitter, but it’s a clip from a few years ago that has brought a light-hearted slant on the angry race to the top job.
The trade minister came second in the first round of voting, pushing Foreign Secretary Ms Truss into third place.
Former chancellor Rishi Sunak claimed the top spot but the battle to reach the final stage of the contest – which will see the two candidates chosen by MPs face a vote of the membership – is far from over.
Ms Mordaunt’s strong performance saw her claim 67 votes, 17 more than Ms Truss, with Mr Sunak picking up the support of 88 MPs.
But supporters of Ms Truss seized on a scathing attack on Ms Mordaunt from former Brexit minister Lord Frost.
He told TalkTV: “I am quite surprised at where she is in this leadership race. She was my deputy – notionally, more than really – in the Brexit talks last year.
“I felt she did not master the detail that was necessary in the negotiations last year. She wouldn’t always deliver tough messages to the European Union when that was necessary.
“She wasn’t fully accountable, she wasn’t always visible. Sometimes I didn’t even know where she was. This became such a problem that, after six months, I had to ask the Prime Minister to move her on and find somebody else to support me.”
Not to be outdone by Nadine Dorries appearing on I’m a Celebrity once upon a time Penny appeared the TV show, Splash.
For those of you who missed it minor celebrities chucked themselves from great heights into a pool.
She bellyflopped in the pool but will she flop as a candidate to become PM?
Related: Tory MP goes into bat for Sunak but is knocked out of park in viral video
