Penny Mordaunt has accepted thousands of pounds in donations from donor linked to climate denial group

Mordaunt received the donation from a firm called ‘First Corporate Consultants, owned by Terence Mordaunt – a renowned critic of established climate change science’.

Tory leadership hopeful Penny Mordaunt has accepted thousands of pounds of donations from a donor linked to the country’s principal climate denial group.

The story has resurfaced after Mordaunt entered the race to replace Boris Johnson after the scandal hit prime minister announced his intention to resign.

Last year, Byline Times reported that in January 2021, Mordaunt received the donation from a firm called ‘First Corporate Consultants, owned by Terence Mordaunt – a renowned critic of established climate change science’.

“Indeed, Terence Mordaunt is the chairman of the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), which is described by investigative outfit DeSmog as “the UK’s principal climate science denial campaign group”. Mr Mordaunt assumed the role in 2019, having served as the director of the pressure group’s advocacy arm, the Global Warming Policy Forum, since April 2017.”

As of today, Terence Mordaunt is still listed as a trustee of the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF). The GWPF has a history of questioning climate science. The UK based think tank was founded by former Conservative Chancellor Nigel Lawson with the purpose of combating what it describes as “extremely damaging and harmful policies” designed to mitigate climate change.

Lawson has also previously said that global warming is ‘not a problem’.

Terence Mordaunt once told openDemocracy: “No one has proved yet that CO2 is the culprit (of climate change).”

Byline also reported that ‘Mordaunt previously gave £10,000 to Penny Mordaunt in May 2019, and has been a prolific Conservative Party donor in recent years’.

Penny Mordaunt, who is now seen as among the favourites to become prime minister, has previously spoken about the dangers posed by climate change. In April 2019 she told Parliament that climate change is ‘an existential threat’.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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