House of Commons delayed after Penny Mordaunt fails to show

(Image: Getty)The House of Commons has been suspended for an hour because Penny Mordaunt wasn’t there to answer business questions.Ms Mordaunt, Leader of the House, was expected to answer questions this morning on today’s business but she was unable to attend.The Prime Minister’s spokesperson said the Commons leader “had a prearranged meeting this morning and had been in touch with the Speaker’s office about that in advance”. There is currently no deputy to take over from her, as one has not yet been appointed by Rishi Sunak.Ms Mordaunt was re-appointed as Leader of the House by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. She was tipped to take a top job in Mr Sunak’s first Cabinet but the position has often been seen as a more junior role in the Government and at times has been used as a position to punish ministers.Ms Mordaunt was first handed the role by Liz Truss when she became Prime Minister, before being given the job again by Mr SunakWalking out of No10 following the appointment on Tuesday, the MP looked unimpressed and refused to answer questions from the media.This comes after Ms Mordaunt battled Mr Sunak for the Conservative Party leadership.UPDATES TO FOLLOW…