Downing Street denies blocking Penny Mordaunt penning an article for The Sunday Telegraph on defence spending this weekend – contrary to whispers going around. Downing Street claims they didn’t block Penny from writing for the paper, despite it being pulled at the last minute according to Fleet Street sources. Penny is said to be pretty angry about it…

Penny’s been hitting the headlines recently over speculation of a potential leadership bid before the election, and it looks like Downing Street are now trying to rein her in. One Westminster source says:

“Open season on the PM is over. She can either be a member of the cabinet or she can campaign to lead it. She cannot expect to be allowed to do both.”

On the offence…

UPDATE: Downing Street says that Penny’s piece was written for the Mail on Sunday, who rejected it. Another op-ed had already been organised in The Sunday Telegraph so Penny’s was agreed to go to them next week. Penny’s team blames internal miscommunication for the mishap. Their robust response shows the degree of concern about Penny being seen to be offside…