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Newsweek
a day ago
- Automotive
- Newsweek
JD Vance's Motorcade While on Vacation Comes Under Scrutiny
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. JD Vance has been mocked over the "ridiculous" scale of his motorcade during a holiday in the English countryside, by a former aide to Tony Blair. Vance and his family—including his wife, Usha, 39, and children, Ewan, 8, Vivek, 5, and Mirabel, 3—pitched up this week at a manor house in the Cotswolds with a full entourage. Why It Matters And the scale of the security operation appears to have caught off guard some local residents who are used to King Charles III's more discrete team when he visits his home in the area, on Highgrove Estate. U.S. Vice President JD Vance listens as U.S. President Donald Trump meets with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House on July 14, 2025. U.S. Vice President JD Vance listens as U.S. President Donald Trump meets with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House on July 14, People Are Saying Alastair Campbell was Blair's Downing Street spokesman during his time as Labour Party Prime Minister but now co-hosts a podcast, The Rest is Politics, alongside Rory Stewart, a former Conservative Party MP who once ran for party leader. On the latest episode, Campbell told Stewart: "He's then going around and, you know the Cotswolds, I mean, why does he have to have this? It's like a status symbol. As we discuss on @RestIsPolitics today when the King goes to Highgrove he has a couple of cars and maybe a motor bike outrider or two. This guy comes for a holiday and has 23 cars and a bike squad traipsing around, and the same again at his next port of call. It's about status... — ALASTAIR CAMPBELL (@campbellclaret) August 13, 2025 "I was talking to somebody who saw the security operation around Vance. They said it was ridiculous. To do a three-point turn the convoy needed about an hour, you know, when it got stuck down one of these little country roads. "And he has an ambulance going after him. I mean, he's only the f****** Vice President of America. "When the king—when your friend the king—wanders off down to Highgrove, what does he have? A couple of cars?" Stewart said: "Exactly. Or when he's doing the Windsor Flower Show, he's going around shaking hand after hand after hand in the middle of a crowd in a way that American presidents or vice presidents never would." One account on X went viral with 1.6 million views and 40k likes after joking: "Dear [U.S. flag], can you please come and get Vance back from our country? He's turned up with a 27-car entourage and is demanding to know the social media handles of local residents. It's not what we do here. Please come quickly." Newsweek contacted the Vice President's Office for comment. What to Know Security is a hugely important subject to the royal family and Prince Harry mounted multiple lawsuits in an attempt to have his reinstated after quitting the palace in 2020. However, the protection detail is generally substantially smaller than the Vance's even when attending official events. Video footage showed Vance's convoy included 27 vehicles: four police motorcycle outriders, 21 unmarked cars with blacked out windows, seemingly a Ford F‑550 ambulance, and a marked police SUV. By contrast, during a recent visit to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, in July, the king's convoy included four cars and three police motorcycle outriders. King Charles's convoy passing through central Headington today on its way to the Centre for Islamic Studies — Headington News (@HeadingtonNews) July 17, 2025 The backlash against Vance's security operation was not confined to political commentators, U.K. newspaper of record The Times spoke to two older women whose usual walking route was blocked by the policing operation. "I told the police 'we are two old ladies, we are hardly terrorists'," one said. "We said 'you poor things, guarding this awful man'. It must be costing us a fortune. Another few thousand pounds down the pan." Roads and footpaths were shut, sniffer dogs deployed, and checkpoints erected, leaving elderly locals frustrated at unexpected lockdowns around their hamlet. Vance traveled to the Cotswolds from a private fishing retreat at Chevening, the grace and favor estate of the British Foreign Secretary, currently David Lammy. On the way, he had a private tour of Hampton Court Palace, which delayed public opening times, before he continued on to the Grade-II–listed manor in the Cotswolds. Upon reaching the historic Dean Manor in Oxfordshire, the motorcade set up a full-scale security perimeter. Meanwhile, The Times quoted Johnny and Pippa Hornby, the millionaire owners of Dean Manor, who apologized to locals for "the circus for the next few days," saying they hoped it would not be "too disruptive." Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page. Do you have a question about Charles and Queen Camilla, William and Kate, Meghan Markle and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@ We'd love to hear from you.
Scottish Sun
14-06-2025
- General
- Scottish Sun
I'm a gardening pro – my easy steps – including a £2.25 Dunelm trick – will banish garden pests like aphids this summer
WE may well be seeing lower slug and snail numbers this summer thanks to colder weather in winter and the recent dry spells. But mother nature never makes it easy for us. Instead - of course - there's a new pest in town. 2 RHS members have found aphids to be the biggest problem this year Credit: Getty 2 Adam Woolcott told Sun Gardening how to get rid of garden pests Credit: Supplied Aphid levels have rocketed this year - and the RHS reckons it's top of the list of gardening queries to their hotline. There's over 500 different species found in the UK - and can be red, yellow, black, green, brown or pink. They feed by sucking sap from plants - and can cause severe damage - including distorted growth, sooty mould and plant viruses - and sometimes plant death. Chelsea award winning gardener Adam Woolcott - and Webb ambassador - gave Sun Gardening some top tips on how to tackle the most common early summer pests. APHIDS Physically remove the aphids from the stems and leaves. Use natural insecticidal soaps. Blast off with water jets. Encourage predators such as ladybirds, lacewings, and hoverflies VINE WEEVIL Both the adult vine weevil beetles and their larvae cause damage. Adults — all female — chew distinctive 'U-shaped' notches in leaves, particularly on evergreen shrubs like rhododendrons, escallonias, and viburnums. Underground: larvae feed on plant roots and can kill container plants like Heucheras. Remove adults at night when they're most active Break the life cycle with biological controls such as nematodes (apply in spring and autumn when grubs are active) Chemical treatments are a last resort, but offer longer-term control LILY BEETLE The bright red beetles and their larvae are both covered in their excrement. They can strip a plant in days, affecting flowering and bulb health. Remove beetles by hand where practical Encourage wildlife into the garden. Birds and ground beetles will eat the larvae Grow a resistant variety. Tolerate some damage if you can — total eradication isn't always necessary. CATERPILLARS Especially troublesome in veg patches. Cabbage white butterfly caterpillars love brassicas, while box tree caterpillars are spreading rapidly across the UK, stripping foliage as they go. Remove the caterpillars by hand if you can and destroy any badly affected plants (if practical) to stop the infestation from spreading. Use biological sprays like nematodes. In some cases, hot water and a mild detergent can help. Ecover is on sale at Dunelm for £2.45. As a last resort, chemical controls can be effective Also in Veronica's Column this week... Top tips, Gardening news, and a competition to win a £250 lawnmower NEWS KING Charles made a surprise visit to Windsor Flower Show last Saturday. Celebrities including Alex Jones and Kirsty Gallacher were at the one-day show - which had wonderful village fair vibes, vegetable and cake competitions and fantastic floral displays. TOP TIP JUNE is actually a good time to take Hydrangea cuttings - and get your own plants for free. They'll have produced some soft green growth - which is what you want. Choose healthy, non flowering shoots that are 10-15cm long and cut just below the node (the leaf joint). Don't collect cuttings from plants with leaves that are turning brown. And try to collect in the morning if you can. Remove the lower leaves - leaving just one or two at the top. Then dip the end in rooting powder or gel - then pop it straight in a pot. You could splash out on seeding and cutting compost - but multi purpose will do - just add a bit of grit or perlite. Then keep them out of direct sunlight and keep moist. They should have rooted within about a month. NEWS A RARE 'sheep-eating' South American plant has flowered in an English primary school for the first time. The Puya Chilensis, with its iconic spike pattern, is normally found in the Andes in Chile. But after it was planted 10 years ago by school horticulturalist Louise Moreton, it has sent out a 10ft spike at Wicor Primary School in Portchester, Hants. It's called a Sheep Catcher as it would normally entangle wildlife, hold onto it - and then when the animal died - would take the nutrients. Ms Moreton said it was exciting but a worrying sign of global warming. WIN! Keep your lawn looking its best this summer by winning a Webb Classic Self Propelled Petrol Lawn Mower worth £249.99. To enter visit or write to Sun Webb competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm. July 5, 2025. T&Cs apply. TOP TIP IF you want to get more flowers from your sedums (now called Hylotelephiums) and prevent them from collapsing - pinch them out around now. Pinch off around four sets of leaves down - which will make them bushier. JOB OF THE WEEK Weeds thrive this month - keep on top of them by hoeing. Tie in sweet peas, and give your plants a good feed - liquid seaweed feed is great - and Tomorite works with nearly everything. Give agapanthus a high-potash feed every couple of weeks. For more top tips and gardening news, follow me @biros_and_bloom
