In comparison, the data show that other ministers such as Ms Trevelyan (four trips), Ranil Jayawardena (two visits) and Mike Freer (four trips) made many more trips abroad each between January and March this year.
In another case, Ms Mordaunt had refused to testify at the Northern Ireland select committee on trade policy in the province in May because she said officials were in a better position to respond.
Last week, Ms Mordaunt had refused to answer for her department in a debate over whaling and dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands. Andrew Griffith, a new minister who had been in the department just hours after the remodeling, intervened.
It is said that Mrs. Mordaunt seldom gives a reason why she is absent from the department. A privileged Whitehall person described her as a “Walter Mitty character.”
On Friday night, a source in Ms Mordaunt ‘s campaign defended her ministerial record: “Penny has always been a dedicated and hard – working minister throughout her career and in all the departments in which she has worked in Whitehall.
“It is a testament to her work ethic, commitment and focus that she has so many colleagues who support her and support her for leadership.
“Penny had the honor of serving in International Development, Trade and as General Paymaster, as well as the country’s first woman Secretary of Defense.”