JD Vance is to host Robert Jenrick at his holiday retreat in the Cotswolds, in a move that will do little to dampen speculation about the senior Tory’s leadership ambitions.
But the US vice president will not meet the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, according to reports.
Mr Vance is taking a surprise summer break in Britain, staying with his family at an 18th-century Georgian manor after spending the weekend with the foreign secretary David Lammy.
They stayed at Mr Lammy’s grace and favour stately home of Chevening in Kent, where they held a meeting on the future of Ukraine on Saturday.
Since then, however, the senior Republican has been holidaying with his wife and children. But it appears he is still keen to speak to other politicians.
The shadow justice secretary has been invited for a one-to-one meeting on Tuesday before a drinks event, according to The Telegraph.
A Conservative spokesperson said aides for Mrs Badenoch and Mr Vance had been in conversation about a meeting but “just couldn’t make it work with schedules”.
However, reports suggest that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage will meet the senior Republican on Wednesday.
Mr Farage hinted two weeks ago that he might see the vice-president while he was in the UK, saying “we’ll see” when asked about the prospect that the two men might go for a pint in the British countryside on radio station LBC.
Sir Keir Starmer did not meet Mr Vance during his trip, as senior politicians often meet what is seen as their counterparts, and the PM’s opposite number is Donald Trump.
Mr Jenrick is reported to have been put in touch with Mr Vance by Dr James Orr, a high-profile conservative thinker and an associate professor of philosophy of religion at the University of Cambridge.
Both the vice president and the justice secretary have similar views on a number of issues, including the need for a crackdown on migration.
Mr Jenrick is at the centre of speculation he will run to become the Tory leader the next time the job becomes available.
As she struggles to cut through with the public, senior Tories at Westminster increasingly believe it is a case of when, not if, Ms Badenoch will vacate the role.
The Tories are third place in opinion polls, trailing behind Labour and Reform UK.
