Dame Penny Mordaunt has told a court she feared “sexual violence” from a man accused of stalking her, and that his actions were more concerning than threats from others “to shoot her and her family”.
Edward Brandt, 61, denies stalking intending serious alarm or distress against the former MP for Portsmouth North.
He sent multiple emails and phone messages to Dame Penny and also turned up at her Portsmouth office out of hours in a bid to meet her, Southampton Crown Court heard.
The trial was told Mr Brandt’s references to wanting a “personal relationship” with Dame Penny caused her to “fear sexual violence, which is extremely alarming”.
Her voice breaking with emotion, Dame Penny, 52, told the court: “This comes after the spate of 13 emails plus voice messages, it’s after he came to my office out of hours, it’s after the police intervened and our letter of cease and desist.
“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 alleged offending occurred between 11 September 2023 and 12 May 2024.
The court was told Mr Brandt, of Freshwater, Isle of Wight, was arrested on 24 March 2024 and given a conditional caution just under a month later, requiring him not to contact Dame Penny.
He then left two voicemail messages for her on 6 and 11 May, the jury heard.
One email from Mr Brandt, who said 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.
“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.”
She said she believed Mr Brandt was “a real threat to me and still is”.
The court heard Mr Brandt made reference to “wanting to shake her hand” about 10 times in his emails, including one that described her as having a “gold-plated and precious hand”.
Dame Penny 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, including the installation of a panic alarm.
Gemma Freeman, Dame Penny’s office manager, said 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.”
The trial continues.
