JD Vance meets Robert Jenrick in Cotswolds

9 hours ago 2

Joshua Nevett

Political reporter

Reuters Vice-President JD Vance speaks during a meeting with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House in Kent. He is sitting in a red armchair and gesturing with his hands.

US Vice-President JD Vance is meeting Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick at the house where he is staying during his holiday in the UK.

The BBC has been told Vance's team invited Jenrick to a private meeting with the vice-president in the Cotswolds on Tuesday.

Vance and his family are visiting the area in south-west England for their summer break away from Washington DC.

The BBC has approached a Vance spokesperson for comment.

Vance arrived in the UK last week and met David Lammy for talks about Gaza and other international affairs at the foreign secretary's official residence, Chevening House, in Kent on Friday.

The vice-president is not due to meet Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who was speaking to business owners in the Isle of Wight on Tuesday.

A Conservative spokesman said aides for Badenoch and Vance had been discussing a meeting but "just couldn't make it work with schedules".

Badenoch met Vance last year when she was in Washington DC and had dinner with the vice-president.

Jenrick, who was defeated by Badenoch in the Tory leadership contest last year, will be meeting Vance for the first time in the Cotswolds.

The Tory shadow secretary of state and Vance have taken similar positions on a range of policy issues, from immigration to free speech.

Reuters A police car is parked on the side of a road, blocked by traffic cones and a sign reading "Police road closed", in the hamlet of Dean in the Cotswolds. Behind there is a white tent, a police officer and a security patrol.

Vance's trip has included several official engagements, meetings and visits to cultural sites.

Over the weekend, Vance and his family enjoyed a guided tour of Hampton Court Palace, the former home of Henry VIII.

Residents in the hamlet of Dean in Oxfordshire have faced disruption, with police closing roads for the vice-president's visit.

The village and a manor house in the area have been under heavy security since Vance's arrival on Sunday evening.

The vice-president has been pictured at a farm shop, near Chipping Norton, close to the home of the former UK Prime Minister Lord David Cameron.

Vance's trip comes before US President Donald Trump, who travelled to Scotland for a private visit in July, is scheduled to make a historic second state visit to the UK next month.