5 days ago
JD Vance visits farm shop owned by Tory donor's wife
JD Vance has been pictured visiting a Cotswolds farm shop owned by the wife of a Tory donor.
The US vice-president visited Daylesford Farm, owned by Baroness Bamford, on Monday during his holiday in the Cotswolds.
The businesswoman, who founded the Daylesford Organic farm shops chain, is the wife of Lord Bamford, the chairman of construction equipment manufacturer JCB.
The Tory peer, his brother Mark, and their company have donated more than £10m to the Conservatives over the past 20 years.
Lord Bamford reportedly gave £3.94m to the party during the 2019 election campaign.
Boris Johnson's wedding to Carrie Symonds in 2022 was also held at Lord Bamford's 18th-century estate, Daylesford House, in Gloucestershire.
Mr Vance arrived at Daylesford Farm Shop in a convoy of armoured cars.
He was shown around by Lord Bamford and took interest in the bread counter, where he was seen trying samples during his three-hour visit. A room inside was closed off for Mr Vance to enjoy lunch before he left via a back door.
The Daylesford Farm Shop sells a variety of high-end organic produce, including bread, meat, fish, and seasonal fruits and vegetables. It also provides ready-to-cook meals, organic wines, candles and skincare products.
Mr Vance, his wife Usha and their three children, began their summer holiday in the UK being hosted by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, at Chevening, his grace-and-favour country house in Kent.
The vice-president's break has been peppered with official meetings on topics such as Ukraine and an intervention over the state of freedom of speech in Britain.
On Sunday, the Vances were given exclusive access to Hampton Court Palace, the former home of Henry VIII. Mr Vance toured the grounds as a throng of tourists massed at the gates, watched over by secret service agents.
