Man, 61, guilty of stalking former Tory minister Penny Mordaunt
A former councilor has been found guilty of stalking Dame Penny Mordaunt.
Edward Brandt, 61, was sentenced after a trial at Southampton Crown Court, which heard the former Conservative Party leadership candidate feared “sexual violence” and believed he was a “real threat”.
The jury returned a guilty verdict by a majority of 10 to 2.
However, Brandt was acquitted of the charge of stalking causing serious alarm or distress.
The hearing was told that Brandt sent Ms Mordaunt at least 17 emails and three phone messages and attended the Portsmouth constituency office outside working hours between September 11, 2023 and May 12, 2024.
The hearing heard Brandt, who was living on the Isle of Wight at the time, failed to comply with the terms of a conditional warning issued in April 2024, which required him to complete a victim awareness course and not contact Dame Penny.
The divorced father-of-two, who now lives in Lymington, Hampshire, later left her two voicemails on May 6 and 10, with one saying: “I’ll keep knocking on your door gently to shake your hand, I won’t give up.”
Brandt, who worked as a professional sailor, was also made subject to an interim pursuit protection order at the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court on 16 July 2024.
In her statement to police, Dame Penny said she “feared sexual violence” because of the defendant’s “frightening” behaviour.
After the jury announced the verdicts, Brandt cried and covered his face with his hands.
Judge William Mousley KC adjourned the case for a pre-sentence report on Brandt and released him on conditional bail until a sentencing hearing on January 16.
“You will be sentenced on Friday, January 16, and a pre-sentence report will be prepared by the Probation Office,” he said.
Dame Penny, who became clearly emotional at times, told the court: “I have been an MP for 14 years and have had to deal with all kinds of threats and problems during that time.
“It’s different than the average citizen, I’m pretty used to dealing with it and I’m a pretty solid individual.
“The difference between this case and the threats to shoot me and my family is that these are easier to deal with because the threat is not constantly present, it is not something you have to think about every day when you leave your house.
“I’m not a professional, I don’t have any counseling experience, but I have a lot of life experience and I deal with vulnerable people or people who are mentally disturbed or otherwise weird, and I believe this man was, and still is, a real threat to me.”
Explaining why he wanted to meet Dame Penny, Brandt, a former councilor for East Hampshire District Council, told the court: “I just wanted to express her sympathy for not getting the top job in the autumn, I think if she had she would still be prime minister.
“I wanted to congratulate him on being a reformist leader of the House of Commons, I wanted to congratulate him on his coronation, I wanted to chat to him about his time in office, I wanted to get him to sign a copy of his book.
“It was completely political and completely harmless.”
Brandt, who said that he was diagnosed with ADHD and was on the autism spectrum, stated that Dame Penny’s office did not receive a response to his requests to meet with him and said, “I did not get an answer, so I continued trying without causing any harm.”
