Energy minister Andrea Leadsom has vowed to banish pessimism as questions continue over her time in the City
Supporters of energy minister Andrea Leadsom have staged a march on parliament after the energy minister promised to “banish the pessimists” on Brexit.
Leadsom backers walked for half a mile between her speech at Millbank Tower and Houses of Parliament.
Along the way, they chanted in support of the energy minister.
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The march came after armed forces minister Penny Mordaunt called on Tory MPs “to do their duty” and select Leadsom for the final round of voting to replace David Cameron.
In her intervention, billed as “a major speech on the economy”, Leadsom reiterated promises from the Leave campaign, stating that the UK would seek continued tariff-free trade with the EU, as well as countries that have trade deals with the EU.
And she repeated commitments to the rights of EU nationals currently living in the UK, and warnings of scrutiny on executive pay.
“Mine will be a realistic, but an optimistic voice. I believe we have a great future ahead of us,” she said.
It comes as Leadsom faces questions over her career in the City prior to joining parliament.
Leadsom and her backers have repeatedly cited her experience in financial services, both in the EU referendum campaign, and her own fight to succeed Cameron.
Supporter Bernard Jenkin had claimed Leadsom worked at “a large investment firm where she was responsible for managing hundreds of people and billions of pounds”.
However, the FCA's register lists her holding permissions to deal with funds for just three months ending in February 2003.
The energy minister was this week forced to publish a CV in a bid to clear up her work history, although this only raised further questions when it described one role as Barclays' “deputy financial institutions director".
Leadsom had previously described her role at the bank as “financial institutions director”.
In addition, the CV lists her as managing director at De Putron Fund Management, while Companies House filings describe her as "marketing director".
Although the energy minister did not take questions after her speech today, she later told the BBC claims she had exaggerated her CV were "ridiculous".
Andrea Leadsom's CV
● 1984-85 Canadian/Chinese corporate finance company: junior support
● 1985–87 EF Hutton: trainee broker, London Metals Exchange
● 1987–97 BZW / Barclays
BZW – sterling commercial paper
Barclays – treasury, Sydney
BZW – swaps
Barclays – managing investment banks business
Barclays – deputy financial institutions director, managing global banking network
Barclays – project director, preparing bank for the euro (including payments and cheques)
● 1997–99 De Putron Fund Management: managing director
● 1999–2009 Invesco Perpetual: senior investment officer and head of corporate governance