Latest news with #PennyMordaunt
Daily Mirror
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Chilling warning as Penny Mordaunt victim of 'humiliating' AI deepfake porn video
Dame Penny Mordaunt said her face was used in an image generated by artificial intelligence (AI) - which she described as 'deliberately humiliating and violent' Former Tory Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt has described being the victim of deepfake porn. Dame Penny said her face was used in an image generated by artificial intelligence (AI) - which she described as "deliberately humiliating and violent". The ex-Defence Secretary and former Commons leader, who lost her seat at last year's general election, said it had happened to a number of parliamentarians. Deepfakes usually involve photos of a person being digitally altered using AI to create a nude image or video without an individual's consent. Dame Penny told BBC Newsnight: "My face had been used, AI porn generated, deep fake porn. I would ask the people behind this, you know, don't they realise the consequences in the real world when they do something like that. "Although I haven't seen this myself, it was deliberately humiliating and violent and that plays across into the real world, it plays across in to people taking actual real world actions against ourselves and that has happened to me." She said: "It's happened to a lot of my colleagues and I do think, I mean the worry for me is actually more with children and we wouldn't want people to see these things on the walk to school. If they did, they'd be in therapy." But the former Tory MP, who is seeking a return to Parliament, said "upsides of the job far outweigh the downsides of being in the public eye". Dame Penny was made aware she was a victim of deepfake porn last July by Channel 4 News alongside other high-profile female politicians including Angela Rayner - now Deputy Prime Minister - and the senior Tory MP Dame Priti Patel. In January the government unveiled plans to make creating explicit 'deepfake' images a criminal offence. The new legislation will ensure those who make and share intimate images without consent will face up to two years in jail. People who install equipment to take these images could also be imprisoned for up to two years. Dame Penny, who had a starring role at Charles III's coronation, became a dame at the King's Birthday Honours list in June. The top Tory, who held a string of Cabinet posts, said at the time: "It is lovely to be appreciated in this way, and I'm very conscious that everything I have ever got done has been with the help and efforts of others."
BBC News
23-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
AI deepfake porn humiliated me, says Penny Mordaunt
Former Conservative cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt has spoken about how shaken she was to learn she was the victim of "deliberately humiliating and violent" deepfake porn when serving as an to BBC Newsnight, the former leader of the House of Commons said that her face had been used in AI-generated deepfake porn, adding it happened to "a number of parliamentarians".Deepfakes are images or videos that have been digitally altered using artificial intelligence (AI) to replace the face of one person with was being interviewed on the programme about advanced age checks that websites with pornographic material must implement before Friday. But speaking on the issue of deepfake porn, she said: "The people behind this... don't realise the consequences in the real world when they do something like that... It plays across into people taking actual real world actions against ourselves."Mordaunt became aware that her face had been used in deepfake porn after a Channel 4 documentary by Cathy Newman last year revealed that Mordaunt, Tory colleague Dame Priti Patel, Labour's Angela Rayner and several other senior female politicians were victims of the the time, Newman revealed she was also a victim. "It was violating... it was kind of me and not me," she said, explaining the video displayed her face but not her this year, the government unveiled plans to make the creation or distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes a criminal offence, following a surge in their proliferation over recent years. "The worry for me is actually more with children," Mordaunt told Newsnight's Victoria Derbyshire."We wouldn't want people to see these things on the walk to school. If they did, they'd be in therapy. But we have seemed to be perfectly happy for them to see it online."Mordaunt also said she was "with the Australians" on their decision to ban social media platforms for added that the government needed "to have some courage" in tackling the issue with people like Elon Musk, the owner of X, formerly Twitter."[Musk] is taking the human race to Mars. I'm sure he can figure out age verification," she said. Mordaunt has held senior positions within previous Conservative governments, including briefly serving as the UK's first female defence secretary. She competed in the 2022 Conservative leadership election, before serving as the leader of the House of Commons and lord president of the gave her a prominent role in the coronation ceremony of King Charles III, during which she held a ceremonial sword for more than an hour. Mordaunt served as the MP for the Portsmouth North constituency for 14 years, before becoming one of several high-profile Conservative figures to lose her seat in last year's general election.
Daily Mail
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Penny Mordaunt reveals she is a victim of 'humiliating and violent' AI-generated deepfake porn - and says she is not the only politician whose face has been used
Penny Mordaunt has revealed that she has been the victim of 'deliberately humiliating and violent' deepfake porn. The former Leader of the House of Commons made the candid confession in an interview with Victoria Derbyshire on Tuesday. She told the BBC Newsnight interviewer that the perpetrators should consider the consequence of their actions and called for tighter controls on social media. The former MP for Portsmouth North also revealed that upsetting instances of abuse such as deepfake porn are a regular occurance. She told the BBC programme: 'Well, not a week has gone by in my parliamentary career when something of this nature hasn't happened.' Non-consensual deepfake pornography is the production of an image using artificial intelligence. The creator combines a photograph and uses AI to remove clothes or create a fake nude photo in the likeness of a real person. Ms Mordaunt explained she had first learned that she had been a victim of a deepfake image following an investigation by Channel 4 presenter Cathy Newman who uncovered 250 famous individuals whose likeness had been stolen. She added: 'My face had been used, AI porn generated, deepfake porn. It happened to a number of parliamentarians.' Other victims included Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, former education secretary, Gillian Keegan, and Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Priti Patel. Following her 'humiliating' experience, the former MP has called for tighter controls on social media and online platforms and raised concerns around access by children to deepfake pornogpraphy. 'I would ask the people behind this, don't they realize the consequences in the real world when they do something like that,' she said, 'because although I haven't seen this myself, it was deliberately humiliating and violent and that plays across into the real world. 'It plays across in to people taking actual real world actions against ourselves and that has happened to me, it's happened to a lot of my colleagues. She added: 'The worry for me is actually more with children and we wouldn't want people to see these things on the walk to school. 'If they did, they'd be in therapy. But we have seemed to be perfectly happy for them to see it online. And so I'm with the Australians on this. We need to go much further, and we need to recognize the real harm this is doing to young people.' Victoria Derbyshire clarified that Ms Mordaunt was referring to the social media ban for under-16s in Australia to which the former Minister for Women and Equalities explained that she wanted the government to do more in tackling the harmful act. Ms Mordaunt even called on X owner Elon Musk to step in and improve age verifications to protect children. She said: 'I would ban certain social media platforms. And I think the government needs to have some courage here in addressing these issues with people like Elon Musk. 'That man is taking the human race to Mars. I'm sure he can figure out age verification and what needs to follow from that.' She ex-parliamentarian added that despite the more difficult sides of being in the public eye, she found that her role in Parliament was still generally positive. The creation of deepfake porn is illegal in the UK following a new Online Safety Act which was brought in last year. It includes the sharing or threatening to share intimate photos of someone without their permission and this includes deepfake images.
Sky News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Antisemitism is a 'stain' on Britain that 'refuses to be consigned to history', report finds
Antisemitism is a "stain" on British society that "refuses to be consigned to history", a new report into how to root it out of the workplace has said. Commissioned by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the review has taken place in the shadow of a massive rise in antisemitism that followed the Hamas attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023. The report was co-authored by Lord John Mann, the government's independent adviser on antisemitism and former Conservative minister Dame Penny Mordaunt. "The Commission heard shocking experiences that we will not ignore," Lord Mann said, as the report was published on Tuesday. He added: "Antisemitism is racism and it must be treated as such. We hope these recommendations will provide additional guidance and action for civil society." Recommendations from the review include improvements to NHS training, policing standards, guidance for schoolteachers and measures to ensure that Jewish people are not discriminated against by professional bodies. Dame Penny said: "No person should face abuse or discrimination whilst going about their business, whether it is pursuing the career of their choice or accessing public services. "We wanted to suggest some very practical things that can be dealt with swiftly and will dramatically improve people's experiences." Lord Mann and Dame Penny set out 10 recommendations calling for educators, public services and trade unions to do more to tackle antisemitism. Among them was a recommendation for every NHS trust to have "basic training on contemporary antisemitism". Meanwhile, efforts to teach primary school teachers how to avoid passing on antisemitism and anti-Jewish tropes in their lessons should be rolled out in faith schools across the UK, the report said.
ITV News
15-07-2025
- Health
- ITV News
Antisemitism an ‘urgent issue' for all of British society, Penny Mordaunt warns
Dame Penny Mordaunt has said she was 'stunned into silence' as she undertook a government-backed review into antisemitism in British society. The former Conservative minister joined Lord John Mann, the government's antisemitism adviser, in chairing an independent commission on antisemitism on behalf of the Board of Deputies, Britain's largest Jewish community organisation. Writing in the Telegraph newspaper, the pair described themselves as 'hard-nosed politicians' who are 'used to dealing with the extremes of human emotions and catastrophe'. Despite "decades of these experiences", however, they said they were "still stunned into silence" by the evidence they had received as independent chairs of the Board of Deputies Commission on Antisemitism, "particularly from young people in the Jewish community". 'This is an urgent issue not just for the Jewish community but for the United Kingdom as a whole,' the pair added. 'We are all harmed if we tolerate the abuse of some of our fellow citizens by those who hold warped or extreme views.' Their warnings of growing antisemitic prejudices across British society, from the NHS to arts organisations and the police, comes as the report they authored is set to be published on Tuesday. Among its recommendations are that the NHS should hold a summit to tackle the 'specific unaddressed issue of antisemitism' within the health service. Lord Mann and former defence secretary Dame Penny set out 10 recommendations calling for educators, public services and trade unions to do more to tackle antisemitism, including "basic training on contemporary antisemitism" for every NHS trust. "From evidence that we heard, we can identify that there is a specific unaddressed issue of antisemitism within the NHS," they said. "We recommend that a summit should be held with NHS leaders across the UK to begin to address this." They noted an 'identifiable lack of consistency and capacity in antisemitism training' and recommended the creation of a specific antisemitism training qualification, adding that such training should be included within equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in organisations and institutions. Government doesn't know how many migrants could be returned under France deal Baseline US tariffs on most UK goods 'here to stay', Lord Mandelson says Efforts to teach primary school teachers how to avoid passing on antisemitism and anti-Jewish tropes in their lessons should be rolled out in faith schools across the UK, the commission said. It added that professional organisations and trade unions should ensure that all Jewish members are treated equally and with respect, while there must be a consistent approach taken by police when dealing with antisemitic crimes. The commission said it had seen evidence of 'hidden barriers being put in front of Jewish involvement within the arts' and said there must always be a 'robust response for those who choose to discriminate and government at every level should ensure this'. Lord Mann said: 'It is unacceptable that the Jewish community has faced an onslaught of antisemitism since October 7th. 'Whilst this is not new, the commission heard shocking experiences that we will not ignore. Antisemitism is racism and it must be treated as such. We hope these recommendations will provide additional guidance and action for civil society.' Dame Penny said: 'No person should face abuse or discrimination whilst going about their business, whether it is pursuing the career of their choice or accessing public services. 'We wanted to suggest some very practical things that can be dealt with swiftly and will dramatically improve people's experiences.' Board of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg said: 'Overall, the challenge in civil society can be summarised as one of a failure to apply the protections rightly afforded to different vulnerable groups equally to Jewish people in the same positions. 'Many sectors promote strong Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) processes, which are very important, but too often, these protections seem to exclude Jews.' He said the board will insist that 'Jews must count' and will use the recommendations of the commission's report 'to ensure that they do'. An NHS spokesperson said: 'It is completely unacceptable for anyone to experience racism, discrimination or prejudice in the health service, whether staff or patient, and the NHS takes any instance of antisemitism or discrimination extremely seriously. 'The NHS provides care and treatment for everyone regardless of race, faith, or background and all NHS healthcare providers should have policies in place to address issues like this in the workplace.'
