Penny Mordaunt calls on Conservative Party to consider disciplinary measures against major donor Alexander Temerko

• Penny Mordaunt asked Tory chairman Oliver Dowden to consider disciplinary measures against a donor, sources say.
• Alexander Temerko called Mordaunt an "uncontrollable woman" after she opposed his Aquind project.

Penny Mordaunt has called for the Conservative Party to censure major donor Alexander Temerko after he called her an "uncontrollable woman" during a bitter dispute over a £1.2bn project to build an electricity link between England and France.

The minister for trade policy held a meeting with Oliver Dowden, the party co-chairman, and members of the party treasurer's team to consider disciplinary measures against the Ukrainian-born businessman, sources familiar with the situation said.

Mordaunt's message to party bosses was that it was "not appropriate for things to carry on as business as usual" and that it would be "very bad if this went unaddressed," sources told Insider.

Dowden was said to have been "receptive" but the sources suggested Mordaunt would consider a more formal complaints procedure if no action was taken against Temerko.

The Conservative Party code of conduct says all members must "treat others in a professional and straightforward manner" and "not use their position to bully, abuse, victimise, harass or unlawfully discriminate against others."

In January, Temerko threatened the trade minister with legal action after the Aquind project was blocked by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, and described her as the "biggest threat to security." He also said he would write to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whom he describes as a friend, regarding her position in the government.

He has since dropped his threat of legal action, though is ploughing ahead with a judicial review of Aquind.

Mordaunt was not involved in the decision but had spoken out against the interconnector project — which would lay cables through her constituency in Portsmouth — warning it posed a risk to Britain's energy security.

She recently urged colleagues to stop doing business with Temerko, telling Insider that "everyone" was now aware of his threats towards her. She noted at the time that donors should abide by the same code of conduct as other party members.

Mordaunt told Insider: "Every member of our party is rightly held to a standard of conduct. This applies to donors too. If we don't address this kind of behaviour we are doing both our elected representatives and our donor community a disservice.

"It also undermines public trust. It is quite wrong and needs to be recognised as such."

Her intervention came as Temerko held meetings with Conservative figures, including former foreign secretary and one-time leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt.

Aquind and Temerko have donated a combined £1.1 million to the Tory party, which included contributions to 21 Tory MPs and ministers.

Temerko did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

A Conservative Party source told Insider: "We can't talk about private discussions in the chief whip's office."