JD Vance poked fun at David Lammy after the pair were snapped fishing together at the Foreign Secretary’s country retreat. The US Vice President has begun his UK family holiday with a visit to Chevening in Kent.
After being pictured carp fishing with Mr Lammy, Mr Vance made a quip about his failure to catch any fish. The Republican said he and his wife “love this area of the UK” and “love this country” as he described the Foreign Secretary as a “good friend”.
Mr Vance said: “Unfortunately, the one strain on the special relationship is that all of my kids caught fish, but the Foreign Secretary did not.”
He added: “It is great to be here… my wife and I love this section, this area of the UK and we were actually here a couple of years ago… so we love this country.
“Just on a personal note, I have to say that I really have become a good friend, and David has become a good friend of mine, and so it’s great to spend some time here with him… you’ve been a very, very gracious host to me and the whole family.”
He said the people who had built Chevening and sustained it “really love the human spirit” and “being here lifts up the human spirit”.
During a later bilateral meeting, Mr Vance said the US has “no plans” to recognise a state of Palestine.
Sir Keir Starmer has said Britain will go ahead with the move next month unless Israel allows more aid into Gaza.
Mr Vance also said the US and UK “have a lot in common” and should work together to “bring greater peace” to the world.
Sitting next to Mr Lammy, he said: “Obviously we come from sort of different political spectrums, but he was kind enough to make time on a visit to DC, we got to know each other a little bit then, and just kept on seeing each other.”
But Mr Vance warned he thinks the West has got “a little too comfortable” with censoring different opinions.
He added: “I just don’t want other countries to follow us down what I think is a very dark path under the Biden administration.”