US Vice President JD Vance Rents £8,000-Wk Cotswolds Manor Amid UK Visit

US Vice President JD Vance is spending his summer holiday in the UK, starting with a stay at Foreign Secretary David Lammy's Grade I-listed Chevening mansion before moving to a sprawling Grade II-listed manor house in the Cotswolds near Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat farm. The Cotswolds property, rented for £8,000 a week, features six acres of gardens, a tennis court, gym, and Georgian orangery and is heavily secured by secret service agents. Vance and Lammy share a close relationship based on their difficult childhoods and Christian faith, and they plan to hold a formal meeting during the visit. However, the trip occurs amid tensions in UK-US relations concerning free speech and asylum policies, with Vance having criticized the UK for restrictions on religious liberties. The holiday may also be awkward given a recent public feud between Vance and Clarkson, who criticized Vance’s comments that Britain had not fought a war in decades and disparaged his views on women and history. Locals note significant security preparations, including a makeshift helipad and continuous agent presence, underscoring the visit's high-profile nature.