Tory leadership candidate removes footage of Wales-Ukraine celebrations from campaign launch video
Penny Mordaunt’s campaign to become the next Tory leader has got off to an awkward start with her launch video hastily edited to remove several identifiable figures – including Wales’ footballers celebrating after beating Ukraine to qualify for the World Cup last month.
The UK’s international trade minister announced that she wants to be the next Prime Minister on Sunday morning, saying the UK’s leadership “needs to become a little less about the leader and a lot more about the ship”.
Her original campaign video featured a clip of Wales beating Ukraine, overlaid with a voice saying: “There must be a focus on who we are.”
The clip of Wales’ win also featured the music of the British patriotic hymn “I vow to thee my country”.
The original video released this morning also featured two seconds of footage showing Jonnie Peacock competing at the London 2012 Paralympics.
Peacock subsequently replied to Ms Mordaunt on Twitter, saying: “I officially request to be removed from this video…. Anything but blue please.”
Amended version
Just over five hours later, Ms Mordaunt posted an amended version of the video to her Twitter.
The clips of Peacock were replaced with a plane flying over the camera and the footage of Wales playoff win was removed completely.
Several other elements of her original campaign video were also altered in the second video.
A smiling police officer, clearly identifiable, was removed and replaced with a clip of a tractor driving through a field.
Cricketer Jonny Bairstow could be seen in the original video but was replaced by the Angel Of The North sculpture in the follow-up.
A clip of soldiers wearing a uniform not associated with the British armed forces also featured in the original video but was replaced with some footage of Westminster.
Video from an interview with Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, the British co-developer of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, was replaced with more generic footage of healthcare staff.
Ms Mordaunt has been approached for comment.
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Looks likes the door has just fallen off the Penny Mordaunt comedy clown car. This is the calibre of Conservative politician we face. Doesn’t it make you feel warm and snug inside. Yeah, the same feeling as dysentery.
I’m pretty sure the Royal Navy would have objected to her using the word ‘ship’…
Well, what a disappointment. And many of us had started to speculate that she had Welsh blood in her veins. Was Mordaunt an Anglicized corruption of Mawr-ddant (big tooth), we wondered? Indeed, hot on the nomination of Marcun Rhyd-barlad to the Orsedd, some of us had a nomination going for Niwc Mawr-ddant (if you are not from Carnarvon, you won’t get it). Am siom.