For over half a year, former Conservative MP Dame Penny Mordaunt found herself at the center of a chilling ordeal that has now come before Southampton Crown Court. The case, which continues to unfold as of November 11, 2025, has drawn national attention—not only for the high-profile nature of the alleged victim, but also for what it reveals about the unique vulnerabilities faced by public figures, especially women, in the digital age.
Edward Brandt, a 61-year-old resident of Queens Road, Freshwater on the Isle of Wight, stands accused of stalking Dame Penny with the intent to cause serious alarm or distress. Prosecutors allege that between September 11, 2023, and May 12, 2024, Brandt subjected the former MP for Portsmouth North to a barrage of emails, phone messages, and even personal visits to her Portsmouth office outside normal working hours—all in a persistent bid to meet her.
According to the BBC, the court heard that Brandt’s messages were far from ordinary constituent correspondence. In her witness statement to police, Dame Penny described how Brandt’s repeated references to wanting a "personal relationship" with her triggered fears of sexual violence. "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," Dame Penny told the jury, her voice breaking with emotion. "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."
Brandt’s communications, the court heard, often fixated on the idea of shaking Dame Penny’s hand—referencing it around ten times in various emails. In one message, he described her as having a "gold-plated and precious hand." To Dame Penny, these messages were "creepy," but she admitted that "real alarm bells didn’t go off until he came to my office." This escalation, she said, was different from the many other threats she had faced during her 14 years in Parliament. "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," she explained. "I believe this man was a real threat to me and still is."
The impact of Brandt’s alleged stalking went beyond Dame Penny herself, affecting her staff and the overall operation of her office. Gemma Freeman, Dame Penny’s office manager, recounted the "pressure cooker" atmosphere that descended upon their workplace. "She was much more wary, more guarded, she was anxious about going out into public spaces when she was going out to different appointments," Freeman testified. "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." Freeman’s emotional testimony underscored the toll that such persistent harassment can take—not just on the individual being targeted, but on everyone around them.
The security response was swift and serious. According to ITV News, Dame Penny’s office increased its protective measures, including the installation of a panic alarm. The court learned that Brandt’s actions forced the team to rethink their routines and movements, carefully planning every public outing to mitigate potential risks. The anxiety was compounded when Brandt referenced Dame Penny’s home address in one of his messages, raising fears that he might attempt to contact her at home or worse. "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," Dame Penny told the court.
Brandt’s contact did not cease even after law enforcement intervened. The court heard that he was arrested on March 24, 2024, and subsequently given a conditional caution on April 19, 2024, which explicitly required him not to contact Dame Penny. However, he left two voicemail messages for her on May 6 and 11, in apparent defiance of the caution. This persistence, prosecutors argue, is indicative of the serious alarm and distress intended by his actions.
The case has also highlighted broader issues of gender and public life. As reported by the Isle of Wight County Press, Dame Penny’s office manager noted that some of the unwanted communications—including death threats and sexually explicit messages, such as a naked photograph of a man—would likely not have been sent to a male MP. "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," Freeman said. While Brandt’s own messages stopped short of explicit content, the pattern of his behavior, coupled with the context of other threats, painted a picture of relentless intrusion.
Throughout the proceedings, Dame Penny has emphasized her resilience and experience in dealing with threats as a parliamentarian—"I am quite used to dealing with this and I am quite a robust individual," she told the court. But she drew a sharp distinction between Brandt’s alleged stalking and other forms of intimidation she had faced. The ongoing, personal nature of Brandt’s approach, she argued, made it uniquely stressful and frightening. "It’s different from your average citizen. I am quite used to dealing with this and I am quite a robust individual," she reiterated. "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."
Brandt, for his part, has denied the charge of stalking with intent to cause serious alarm or distress. In one of his emails, he described himself as being on the "left wing of the Conservative Party," and insisted, "I am going to go on gently knocking at your door in order to shake your hand, I am not giving up." The trial continues, with the jury set to weigh not only the content of Brandt’s communications but also the intent and impact behind them.
As the case moves forward, it stands as a stark reminder of the complex, often unseen pressures faced by public figures. For Dame Penny and her team, the ordeal has left lasting scars, but also a renewed determination to confront the realities of harassment in public life—where the line between political engagement and personal intrusion can sometimes be all too thin.
