logo
A 'security circus': How JD Vance's visit to a sleepy Cotswolds village sparked anger

A 'security circus': How JD Vance's visit to a sleepy Cotswolds village sparked anger

Yahoo4 days ago
Locals are tired of closed roads, vehicle searches and constant security presence, while protesters told the vice president to 'go home'.
Protesters are set to gather close to a manor house in the Cotswolds where US vice president JD Vance is holidaying with his wife and three children.
Demonstrators are expected in the Oxfordshire town of Charlbury, where a heavy police operation has been put in place to protect Vance and his family.
Vance travelled to the picturesque area on Sunday evening (10 August) after spending two nights in Chevening House, Kent, with the UK's foreign secretary David Lammy.
Locals in nearby Dean faced with road closures, sniffer dogs, ID checks are frustrated by the constant security presence, with one comparing the "over-the-top" spectacle to a scene from Men in Black.
What is JD Vance doing in the Cotswolds?
JD Vance is holidaying in the tiny hamlet of Dean with his family.
They are staying in Dean Manor, a Grade II listed Georgian home that is hidden behind a 15-foot stone wall and surrounded by six acres of gardens.
While this is a summer holiday, Vance has already met with the foreign secretary, and is also expected to host shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick on Tuesday (12 August) at his Cotswolds retreat.
Vance and his family are expected to travel to Ayrshire in Scotland later in the week, where they'll stay for five days, according to the London Standard, with police planning their own security operation for his visit.
Why is JD Vance facing protests?
Protesters are gathering in opposition to what they describe as the "genocide-enabling" US regime's support of Israel's onslaught in Gaza.
"JD Vance is a hideous moral vacuum and the British public want nothing to do with him," Stop Trump Coalition spokesperson Zoe Gardner told the Huffington Post.
'It is nauseating to watch ministers' displays of fake friendship with this authoritarian, anti-democratic, genocide-enabling US regime."
Beyond Gaza, protesters are understood to have a broader range of grievances including LGBTQ rights, the climate, inequality and Ukraine, according to the New Statesman.
The so-called "Vance not welcome party" is scheduled to start at Mill Field from 4pm, according to the Oxford Mail.
In an email to the newspaper, one activist said: "It's not a mass demonstration but we plan to make ourselves heard, show the Vance meme image that we know the thin-skinned Vance can't stand, and 'dance against Vance'."
Speaking to the Oxford Mail on Monday, Jonathan Mazower, said residents objected to Vance's visit "because of who he is", with some putting up signs around Dean saying "go home" and "fascists not welcome here".
The charity worker said the Trump administration 'is attacking so much of what our democratic societies hold dear' and that Vance "represents the worst excesses of the American far right".
This isn't the first time Vance has been met with protesters while on holiday.
He was faced with hundreds of pro-Ukraine demonstrators during a ski trip in Vermont in March, following his clash with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
The vice president was also heckled during a family visit to Disneyland California in July.
Locals fed up of 'American security circus'
Cotswolds residents faced with vehicle searches and traffic diversions are growing tired of Vance's trip to an otherwise tranquil part of the British countryside.
All entrances to Dean – two roads and three public footpaths – have been blocked off, with a heavy police and US Secret Service presence stationed at a large marquee.
Only residents of the hamlet are allowed in and out, dog walkers are diverted, and those entering are subject to car searches by security.
Many locals are reluctant to speak about the visit due to security concerns, but Andy Graham, a local councillor for Charlbury, said the heavy presence of guards in black suits and sunglasses felt "a bit over-the-top".
'The trouble is when you get security on such a scale, it tends to be a bit initiatory. It was a bit like the Men in Black had arrived on a film set in Chipping Norton and Dean yesterday," he said.
'We understand that people do need security, but I think they haven't been discreet about it. And I think that tends to generate more concern than is necessary. Roads have been closed up."
Cllr Graham questioned the level of resources used by Thames Valley Police, claiming the force "should be doing other things", and was "disappointed" that authorities didn't keep him "in the loop".
"I don't need the details because they can't do that but giving us a bit more of a steer so that I could reassure my constituents a bit more would have been good. I'm just a bit miffed about it I suppose.
Stephen Bubb, a 72-year-old retiree, said he has "no objection" to Vance coming to Britain for his holiday.
"What I object to, is the over-the-top American security circus that is causing significant disruption to us," he said.
"You know, I think the Americans could learn a little from our own royal family. Our royal family manages to get around the country with minimum security, minimum disruption to people's lives."
A couple, both US citizens living in the UK, said they attempted to visit the town of Dean because they were curious about the area where JD Vance had chosen to stay.
'We were being nosey. But the security wouldn't let us past the blockade," one of them said, having told guards that they weren't there to visit anyone and only wanted to check out the cafes.
'I'm saddened in a way that the Cotswolds will be on the radar of Americans and particularly MAGA type Americans," she added.
Software salesman Miles Walkden, 57, said that plenty of famous people stop by in the area, and that it doesn't usually affect locals "too much".
"To be fair, I don't think there's many people who like JD Vance around here... I don't like him, but he's a guy on holiday with his family, so I feel a bit like, if I saw him anywhere else, I might have something to say.
"But if he's out with his family, I'm probably going to ignore it. But there's a lot of people around here who are not happy about it."
Read more
JD Vance to host Robert Jenrick at Cotswolds manor house (The Telegraph)
US Vice President JD Vance set to stay at 'luxurious' estate on Ayrshire visit (The Daily Record)
JD Vance visits farm shop owned by Tory donor's wife (The Telegraph)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

MP resigns as trade envoy over northern Cyprus visit
MP resigns as trade envoy over northern Cyprus visit

Yahoo

time17 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

MP resigns as trade envoy over northern Cyprus visit

A Labour MP has resigned as the UK's trade envoy to Turkey amid controversy over a visit to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus. A government spokesman told the BBC Afzal Khan, who represents Manchester Rusholme, had stepped down from his position on Friday. Mr Khan said the trip to the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is not recognised by the UK Government, was to visit his nephew and to receive an honorary degree. He said he had paid for the trip himself. Turkish troops have occupied the northern section of the Mediterranean island since 1974. Shadow foreign minister Wendy Morton told the BBC that she welcomed Mr Khan's resignation, but said Sir Keir Starmer should have sacked him earlier.

Truth about asylum seekers in Birmingham and West Midlands amid protest fears
Truth about asylum seekers in Birmingham and West Midlands amid protest fears

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Truth about asylum seekers in Birmingham and West Midlands amid protest fears

The number of asylum seekers living in hotels and other properties in the West Midlands has gone up slightly this year to 8,828. While there has been an increase in small boat crossings that has driven up requests, the numbers involved still represents less than half a per cent of the local population. Latest Home Office data also reveals that only a quarter of those seeking asylum in the region are in hotels, despite those being a focal point for anti-migrant protests. The majority live in shared refuges, hostels and houses operated by Home Office contractors Serco. READ MORE: Police reveal dog walker update in urgent search for missing Birmingham man The new data, for the period up to the end of March, shows the real number of asylum seekers being housed in the region. It comes in the wake of damaging protests at hotel locations around the region and country, including at hotels in Sutton Coldfield, Solihull and Wolverhampton. One asylum seeker in Wolverhampton bravely shared his experience of being on the receiving end of protestors' chants and anger, describing it as 'very fearful'. 'Ibrahim' was speaking on BBC Newsnight. More protests are planned this weekend. As at March 2025, there were 8,828 asylum seekers being supported in hotels and other accommodation across the West Midlands. This is up around 5,000 since December 2024. Of those placed in the region, 3,306 were in hotel accommodation and the rest were living in homes, hostels and specialist provision. Birmingham: 1,018 living in hotels and 1,354 in dispersed accommodation. Sandwell: 277 in hotels and 1,367 in dispersed accommodation. Dudley: 35 in hotels, 630 in dispersed accommodation Solihull: 211 in hotels, 43 in dispersed accommodation Walsall: 0 in hotels, 687 in dispersed accommodation Coventry: 329 in hotels, 1,554 in dispersed accommodation Wolverhampton: 227 in hotels, 1,013 in dispersed accommodation In 2024, 53% of all asylum applications were refused at initial decision. Refugees have also been able to enter the UK through resettlement schemes. Between 2014 and March 2025, around 34,200 Afghans had been resettled under a government scheme. In 2022 two Ukrainian resettlement schemes were launched, triggering the biggest flow of people into the UK than at any time in recent history. By March 2025, some 223,000 people had arrived in the UK through these schemes. That represents more than the total number granted refuge via all other routes and countries. In 2024, a total of 108,100 applicants sought asylum, the highest annual number ever recorded. In that year, around 53% of applications were initially refused. The biggest nationality of origin was Pakistani, followed by Afghan, according to Home Office data.

Campaigners fighting Sizewell C granted hearing in the High Court
Campaigners fighting Sizewell C granted hearing in the High Court

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Campaigners fighting Sizewell C granted hearing in the High Court

Campaigners fighting the new Sizewell C nuclear power station have been granted a hearing in the High Court. Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) is seeking a judicial review into plans for additional sea defences as part of the project. The action group is calling for Sizewell C's development consent order, granted in 2022, to be revoked or varied. READ MORE: Suffolk: High Court rejects Sizewell legal challenge A judge at the High Court will hear TASC's representatives claim project developer, power firm EDF, kept plans for the flood barriers secret in order to avoid scrutiny. A decision would then be made on whether to grant a judicial review hearing, which would take place at a later date. A TASC spokesperson said: "Sizewell C's attempt to avoid scrutiny of these additional sea defences now means the project is proceeding without its full environmental impact having been assessed, this being in contravention of the UK Habitat Regulations. "Sizewell C clearly believe they can do as they see fit with our heritage coast, national landscape and designated wildlife sites irrespective of the damage they will cause – this government, the largest shareholder in Sizewell C, must be challenged on this." TASC believe that the barriers were omitted from the original planning application that was granted development consent and fear that their construction could disrupt nearby wildlife habitats. READ MORE: Sizewell C campaigners lose High Court challenge for Suffolk The campaigners would like less invasive flood barrier options to be pursued. TASC has lost previous judicial reviews into the new station, which is set to cost £38 billion, including in June 2023 when the High Court rejected a legal challenge over the disposal of nuclear waste and the provision of a water supply. In 2022, a similar legal challenge claiming the development was unlawful because of concerns about the maintenance of a water supply, was also rejected.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store