Locals have been left shell-shocked after US vice-president JD Vance and his secret service motorcade rode into their sleepy hamlet on his very British holiday to the Cotswolds.
Taking time off from being ruthlessly mocked in South Park, the US vice president is winding down for the summer holidays in the hamlet of Dean, near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.
But villagers are being overwhelmed by the ‘Men in Black’ like security entourage treating ‘old ladies like terrorists’ and implementing roadblocks that put a burden on the idyllic location.
One woman told The Times the village had seen ‘one blinking pantomime after the other’ and said: ‘We are used to the great and good here. Before David Cameron moved in we had Douglas Hurd and he was lovely.
‘We have Ben Kingsley in Spelsbury and we see him in the woods walking his dog, but to close off the roads is ridiculous.’
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The woman told the paper she and a friend had been stopped by police blocking a footpath while walking through the area, and said: ‘I told the police “we are two old ladies, we are hardly terrorists”.’
Another local told the Guardian police were knocking on doors asking for personal details of residents and their social media accounts.
He said: ‘I know several people refused. We asked them if they were protecting us, or Vance. At least they were honest and said it is for him and that it will all be passed on to the American security people.’
One local ranted to LBC: ‘Generally we like to welcome everybody to Chipping Norton, but no, I’d absolutely kick him in the shins.’
Vance is visiting the Cotswolds, nestled in the lush rollinghills, with his wife Usha and children Ewan, Mirabel and Vivek.
They are renting a luxurious home from Johnny and Pippa Hornby, who have transformed the Edwardian garden into a ‘waterworld’ with added swimming pools.
In a message seen by The Telegraph, Ms Hornby told neighbours she was ‘so sorry for the circus that is there for the next few days’, and that she hoped it would not be ‘too disruptive’.
But JD Vance was mixing business with pleasure as he visited British foreign secretary David Lammy on Saturday.
The meeting took place at the Foreign Secretary’s official country retreat, Chevening, in Kent, where Mr Vance stayed at the start of his UK jaunt.
After the meeting, Mr Lammy said: ‘The UK’s support for Ukraine remains ironclad as we continue working towards a just and lasting peace.’
It is understood that the meeting had been called at Washington’s request, and included representatives from the US, Ukraine, France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Poland as well as the UK.
