"Creepy" stalker left ex-Portsmouth MP Penny Mordaunt fearing "sexual violence", court hears

Dame Penny, who was MP between 2010 to 2024, said she was subjected to a relentless campaign of stalking by Edward Brandt, 61, with her telling a trial at Southampton Crown Court it was the “hardest case I’ve had to deal with”.

Brandt, of Freshwater, Isle of Wight, is accused of one charge of stalking intending serious alarm or distress between September 11, 2023, and May 12 2024. He denies the charge.

The court heard that Brandt sent multiple emails and phone messages to Dame Penny and also turned up at her Portsmouth office at Lakeside, North Harbour, out of hours in a bid to meet her. “I believe this man was a real threat to me…and still is,” an emotional Ms Mordaunt told the court.

The former leader of the House of Commons was concerned that Brandt, who apparently knew where she lived, wanted a “personal relationship” causing her to “fear sexual violence, which is extremely alarming”. Despite being warned off contacting the then MP further, Brandt chillingly said he was “not giving up” his efforts.

Dame Penny, who fought twice for the Conservative Party leadership, told the court the unnerving campaign of stalking was worse than “threats to shoot me and my family” as they were not a “constant and immediate threat”, with them “not something I have to think about when leaving my house”.

She continued: “My anxiety and concern about Mr Brandt was because of his obsessive behaviour. He came to my office out of hours and ignored police warnings and conditions asked of him and continued to have total disregard. The distress this has caused me is why I’m in court today.”

The court heard Dame Penny received 13 emails plus voice messages which resulted in a letter of “cease and desist” to warn Brandt off. “I believe his motivations for pursuing me are not that he wanted to have a conversation about flat tax. I do think they do point to that he is talking about meeting me socially, he is not asking for a surgery appointment,” she told jurors.

“He wants to meet me after hours, the way he is talking about my physical appearance and so forth, it’s clear that this is not a normal pattern of behaviour.”

The court was told that Brandt was arrested on March 24, 2024, and given a conditional caution on April 19 2024, requiring him not to contact Dame Penny. He then left two voicemail messages for her on May 6 and 11.

One email from Brandt, who said that he was on the “left wing of the Conservative Party”, stated: “I am going to go on gently knocking at your door in order to shake your hand, I am not giving up.”

Dame Penny, who was an MP from 2010 to 2024, added: “I have been a parliamentarian for 14 years and during that time I have had to deal with all kinds of threats and issues.

“It’s different from your average citizen. I am quite used to dealing with this and I am quite a robust individual.

“The difference between this case and even threats to shoot me and my family, they are easier to deal with because that threat is not constantly present, it’s not something you are having to think about every single day when you are leaving your house.

“I am not a professional, I do not have counselling experience but I have a lot of life experience and dealing with vulnerable people or people who are mentally unwell or strange in another way and I believe this man was a real threat to me and still is.”

The court heard that Brandt made reference to “wanting to shake her hand” around 10 times in his emails, including one that described her as having a “gold-plated and precious hand”.

Dame Penny, 52, said that she had found the emails “creepy” but said that “real alarm bells didn’t go off until he came to my office”.

Saying that he referenced her home address in one message, she added: “I was concerned that he knew where I lived, that he didn’t seem to have any boundaries and had gone to my place of work out of hours when the office was shut.”

The court heard that Dame Penny’s office had to increase security following Brandt’s actions, including the installation of a panic alarm.

Gemma Freeman, Dame Penny’s office manager, said that Brandt’s actions came during a “pressure cooker” period for the former MP, who became “much more wary” and “anxious” as a result.

She said that speaking with the defendant had left her “with a deep sense of unease”.

Ms Freeman, who broke down in tears as she spoke of the impact on Dame Penny, said: “She was much more wary, more guarded, she was anxious about going out into public spaces when she was going out to different appointments.

“Everything was planned down to the nth detail about what could go wrong, it was exhausting for her, it was exhausting for all of us.”

She said that Dame Penny had received other unwarranted emails, including death threats and “sexually explicit” messages, including a naked photograph of a man.

Ms Freeman added: “Had she been a male MP, I do not think she would have received these types of communications, some, not Mr Brandt’s, were sexually explicit.”

She said: “In this two-year period, Penny had gone through two leadership elections, the coronation, her profile had expanded to such an extent, we were getting a lot of contact, not only from the constituency but all over the country, up to a thousand emails a day, it was difficult to manage.”

Brandt denies the charge.

(Proceeding)