‘There’s a lot I could say about this woman but I’ll let others spill the beans’: Penny Mordaunt’s former partner’s ex-wife hints at feud with Tory leader
- Liz Lyon had been married to Ian for almost a decade when he became close to Mordaunt
- He told the Mail on Sunday: ‘You’ll have to find someone else to spill the beans’
- Multiple sources claimed Mr Lyon split from his wife after falling in love with the MP
That The ex-wife of Penny Mordaunt’s former partner has hinted at a feud with the Tory leader.
Liz Lyon had been married to classical singer Ian for almost a decade when he became close to Ms Mordaunt in 2009. The pair were a couple until around 2016.
Asked about that Tory MP, who is the bookmakers’ favorite to succeed Boris JohnsonMs Lyon told The Mail on Sunday: “There are a lot of things I would say about this woman but I won’t do it.
“You have to find someone else to spill the beans.”
Her comment comes amid widespread claims that Ms Mordaunt’s friendship with Mr Lyon contributed to the breakdown of his marriage.
The ex-wife of Penny Mordaunt’s former partner (pictured together, Ian Lyon) has hinted at a feud with the Tory leadership’s front runner
Multiple sources claimed Mr Lyon, then a Tory activist and father of an eight-year-old daughter, split from his wife after he fell head over heels in love with the MP.
He and Ms Mordaunt, who has since divorced, are understood to have met ahead of the 2005 general election in which they were both Conservative candidates – she in Portsmouth North and he in Cambridge – at an event with “dismal speeches and plenty of warm white wine.” “ had met .
Another source said Ms Lyon, who married her husband in Westminster in 1996, was “heartbroken” when their marriage fell apart.
Mr Lyon, now 59, was the director of an IT company in north London when he ran unsuccessfully for the Tories in 2005. Mrs Mordaunt was also beaten but swept to victory five years later at Portsmouth North.
After separating from his wife, Mr Lyon moved with Ms Mordaunt into a plush flat in Portsmouth, which they shared with eight Burmese cats.
Mr Lyon was elected a member of Portsmouth City Council in 2015 when he declared a “personal, non-prejudicial interest” in having his partner “be one of the Portsmouth MPs”. On the eve of his election, Ms Mordaunt tweeted her support. “I wish Ian Lyon the best of luck tomorrow. He would be a fantastic Cllr for Nelson Ward and brings business experience to the PCC (Portsmouth City Council),” she wrote.
However, they split the following year – to the disappointment of her family.
Her uncle Henry Mordaunt said: ‘I’ve met Ian several times at family gatherings, he was a lovely man. He attended Penny’s cousin’s wedding and, being a former singer, led the singing with his powerful, booming voice.
Liz Lyon (left) had been married to classical singer Ian for almost a decade when he became close to Ms Mordaunt in 2009. The pair were a couple until around 2016
“They dated for a few years and I was pretty sad when it ended.” At the time of the split, a friend told a newspaper: “It’s just one of those things that came to a natural end. There was nobody else involved.’
Ms Mordaunt declined to comment on her relationship with Mr Lyon, who could not be contacted.
Meanwhile, Mr Mordaunt revealed last night that his niece is the only Brexiteer in a hard-line Remainers family.
“Everyone else in the family is pro-Remain,” he said. “It’s a topic we avoided when we got together. We talked about it until Penny showed up and then we stopped.
“I was for Remain. My brother [Ms Mordaunt’s father] was for Remain… Edward [her brother] married a Polish girl, so he was very pro-remain. “Of course it might have been the people she met at Westminster that influenced her, but I never really pinned her on why she was against it [remaining in the EU].’
Ms Mordaunt was asked to comment.
