David Lammy to host JD Vance at country residence

David Lammy (left) meets Vance regularly in his role as foreign secretary

Foreign secretary David Lammy is to host US Vice President JD Vance at his official country residence Chevening House, in Kent, on Friday.

"The vice president and foreign secretary will discuss a variety of topics pertaining to the US-UK relationship," the White House said in a statement.

Vance and his family are in the UK on a private family holiday. They are expected to spend most of their break in the Cotswolds and are also reported to be planning a visit to Hampton Court Palace.

UK foreign secretaries have traditionally had the use of Chevening, a Grade 1 listed mansion, with gardens that include a lake and a maze.

Chevening House dates back nearly 400 years and is set in its own grounds

Lammy and Vance have been meeting regularly on official trips since the foreign secretary started in his role last year, and they are reported to have bonded over their shared Christian faith.

The foreign secretary attended mass at Vance's Washington residence on an official visit in March and is now reported to be repaying the favour by allowing his family to stay at his grace and favour mansion.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast last summer, Lammy said: "Let me just say on JD Vance that I've met him now on several occasions, we share a similar working-class backgrounds with addiction issues in our family.

"We've written books on that, we've talked about that, and we're both Christians. So I think I can find common ground with JD Vance."

The two are expected to hold a bilateral meeting before being joined by their families at Chevening.

The vice president's UK visit comes a few weeks after Donald Trump travelled to Scotland, on a private visit to his golf courses.

Trump met Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as well as EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, agreeing a trade deal with the bloc, and will return for a full state visit in September.

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