Speculation that Marlborough’s outspoken Tory MP Claire Perry, a former banker and protégé of Chancellor George Osborne, was about to be given a boost to her career in David Cameron’s government reshuffle has proved false.
It arose in her Devizes constituency following the revelation that her employment tribunal hearing, due at Bristol last month, has now been withdrawn from the list of pending cases, the presumption being that the claim for wrongful dismissal by Mrs Penelope Nurick has been settled.
Mrs Nurick, who seconded 48-year-old Mrs Perry’s bid to replace Tory grandee Michael Ancram as constituency MP at the 2010 general election, has been described as a best friend who worked for the MP in her Devizes office.
But while Tory women MPs Maria Miller, Helen Grant, Esther McVey, Liz Truss and Anna Soubry have all been promoted by the Prime Minister, Mrs Perry remains Parliamentary Private Secretary to Defence Minister Philip Hammond.
A Marlborough News Online request for a statement from Mrs Perry has so far gone unanswered.
