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A former councillor has been jailed for 20 weeks after stalking Dame Penny Mordaunt which she said left her fearing “sexual violence”.

Edward Brandt was found guilty at Southampton Crown Court of the offence but acquitted of a more serious charge of stalking involving serious alarm or distress.

The trial was told that the 61-year-old sent at least 17 emails and three phone messages to Dame Penny, as well as turning up at her Portsmouth constituency office out-of-hours between September 11 2023 and May 12 2024.

She said in a statement to police that she “feared sexual violence” because of the defendant’s “creepy” behaviour.

Brandt, who worked as a professional sailor, was also sentenced for seven breaches in December 2025 of a stalking protection order in place until November 2034 by failing to notify police of devices capable of connecting to the internet and of the creation of accounts on Facebook and Snapchat.

He was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison for the stalking offence and eight weeks to serve consecutively for the breaches.