Penny Mordaunt has denied speaking to Boris Johnson over switching her support to him in return of a job.
Speaking ahead of Monday’s deadline, Ms Mordaunt has denied speaking to the former Prime Minister, telling the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “No, no, it’s completely false.”
Pressed on whether she would back Mr Johnson or Rishi Sunak, Ms Mordaunt said: “I’m standing to be Prime Minister. I am not contemplating how the other camps are organising themselves.”
Neither Mr Johnson nor Mr Sunak are yet to declare in the race, but according to reports, the pair also allegedly held talks on Saturday night.
When talking of her own pitch, which as it stands has the public support of under 30 MPs, Ms Mordaunt said she would keep Jeremy Hunt in place as Chancellor in order to try and reclaim economic stability.
Asked where she would make spending cuts: “I’m not going to talk about the details of that package (on October 31), what might come forward or decisions that are in the Bank of England’s remit.”
Pressed on whether she would make cuts to the NHS, she said: “I’m not going to be drawn into the detail of this but what is important for your viewers is to understand that I recognise that people are going to need support, that our health service is under strain.”
On defence, she said: “I know that me not giving you an answer to that question is to my detriment, but I’m putting the country first.”
Ms Mordaunt added that she would not be “drawn on” the pensions triple lock.
Commenting on the last leadership election, Ms Mordaunt said she was a halfway house between Liz Truss and the former Chancellor.
She did, however, say that she regretted the mini-Budget but said it is critical that stability and confidence are now rebuilt.
She concluded: “You have to have stability in order to deliver low tax and you have to have low taxes in order to grow the economy and create that stability.
“That is what I am standing for. That is why I think I’m best placed to unite our party.”
