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Jeremy Clarkson has joined a backlash in the Cotswolds after US vice president JD Vance arrived at a picturesque hamlet in the region for his summer holiday.

Mr Vance and his family are staying at Dean Manor, a Grade II-listed country home in the tiny hamlet of Dean, during a trip where they also stayed with the Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Kent and will later travel to Scotland.

Local residents reportedly expressed their frustrations after Mr Vance’s enormous motorcade, consisting of 18 vehicles, caused a lockdown in the countryside on Monday.

People in the Cotswolds faced road closures and security checkpoints overseen by police with sniffer dogs as Mr Vance made his way to Dean Manor on Monday, according to GloucestershireLive.

It came before a “Vance Not Welcome Party” protest was organised by the groups “Everybody Hates Elon” and the “Stop Trump Coalition” in Charlbury, close to where Mr Vance is staying, today.

People attend the 'Vance not welcome party' protest as  JD Vance spends his holiday nearby. Pic: Reuters
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People attend the ‘Vance not welcome party’ protest as JD Vance spends his holiday nearby. Pic: Reuters

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

The demonstrators held banners mocking the US vice president and calling him a “war criminal”, in an apparent reference to America’s support for Israel.

Several protesters held images of a widely shared meme depicting Mr Vance with a bald head. The meme went viral after a Norwegian tourist claimed he was not allowed into the US after immigration agents saw it on his phone.

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One protester in Charlbury held a banner reading “JD Vance’s Netflix password is ‘password'”, while another held a sign which said: “JD Vance claps when the plane lands.”

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Meanwhile, a van displaying the image of a bald Mr Vance was seen driving through Charlbury.

A large sign outside a property in nearby Chipping Norton read: “Gaza starves, Vance not welcome.”

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

The demonstrations took place as former Top Gear presenter Clarkson shared an image on Instagram which highlighted how his farm is under a no-fly zone over the Cotswolds areas of Chadlington and Spelsbury.

In an apparent reference to filming for the fifth series of his show Clarkson’s Farm, the 65-year-old wrote: “The JD Vance no fly zone. We are the pin. So on the downside, no drone shots today. On the upside, no annoying light aircraft.”

However, he later sarcastically shared a video of a peaceful Cotswolds scene and wrote: “Utter chaos caused by Vance. How will we ever manage?”

Read more:
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Kaleb Cooper, a farmer who is Clarkson’s co-star on the Amazon Prime show, said some of his “wheat got wet” after he got stuck behind Mr Vance’s convoy.

He wrote: “I could have easily went on my way and got it in the shed without getting in the way.”

Cooper also joked that if Mr Vance simply “drove around in a VW Polo nobody would know who he was”.

Clarkson’s “Diddly Squat Farm” in Chadlington is around three miles from the hamlet of Dean where Mr Vance is staying.

Well known for being popular with members of the British elite – former UK prime minister David Cameron lives in Dean – the Cotswolds is also becoming increasingly popular with wealthy Americans.

Some of them moved to the region after the election of Donald Trump last year. TV presenter Ellen DeGeneres is among those who has relocated to the area.

Not all of Dean’s residents appreciate its growing popularity. Jonathan Mazower, the head of communications for NGO Survival International, who owns one of Dean’s 15 homes, said he had to speak out against Mr Vance’s presence, adding: “It’s a massive intrusion and it’s not just the fact our lives are disrupted but it’s who he is.”

A police officer and a member of US security man a checkpoint and where a road closure was in place as JD Vance spends his holiday nearby. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
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A police officer and a member of US security man a checkpoint and where a road closure was in place as JD Vance spends his holiday nearby. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Vance’s UK tour

The US vice president is expected to host shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick during his holiday – but not Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

Mr Jenrick has been invited to meet Mr Vance before a drinks event on Tuesday, it is understood.

A Conservative spokesman said the party leader’s team had spoken to Mr Vance’s but that “scheduling” had proved difficult.

Both sides have played down the notion of a snub, the Telegraph reported.

It comes as the US vice president will travel to Scotland later this week in a trip that could see up to 1,000 police officers deployed as part of security efforts.

Sky News understands the Vance family are likely to visit Ayrshire but are not thought to be planning to stay at Mr Trump’s Turnberry resort in the area.

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Lammy-Vance Bromance: Will it last?

In Kent, Mr Vance said he had a “love” for the UK but joked he had committed a diplomatic faux pas as he began his holiday.

“Unfortunately, the one strain on the special relationship is that all of my kids caught fish, but the foreign secretary did not,” he said.

He also said he doesn’t want the UK to go down a “very dark path” of losing free speech.

Mr Vance described Mr Lammy as a “very, very gracious host”.

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Taylor Swift reveals release date for new album

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Taylor Swift reveals release date for new album

Taylor Swift has revealed the release date for her new album, The Life Of A Showgirl.

The pop megastar announced her 12th studio album earlier this week but didn’t give many details.

Now, in social media posts and an appearance on boyfriend Travis Kelce’s sports podcast, Swift revealed just what fans can expect from the new album.

Taylor Swift and boyfriend Travis Kelce on the New Heights podcast. Pic: New Heights
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Taylor Swift and boyfriend Travis Kelce on the New Heights podcast. Pic: New Heights

The Life of Showgirl, written during the European leg of her record-breaking Eras tour, will be released on 3 October.

It consists of 12 songs, including the title track that features pop star Sabrina Carpenter.

The full track list is:

1. The Fate Of Ophelia
2. Elizabeth Taylor
3. Opalite
4. Father Figure
5. Eldest Daughter
6. Ruin The Friendship
7. Actually Romantic
8. Wi$h Li$t
9. Wood
10. Cancelled!
11. Honey
12. The Life Of A Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)

Long-time collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, two Swedish producers who worked with Swift on some of her biggest hits, joined the pop star for this album.

Within four hours of posting the full podcast episode on YouTube, it had already gathered 4.7m views.

The cover of Taylor Swift's newly announced album. Pic: Republic Records
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The cover of Taylor Swift’s newly announced album. Pic: Republic Records

The back cover of Taylor Swift's 12th studio album The Life Of A Showgirl. Pic: 	Republic Records
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The back cover of Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album The Life Of A Showgirl. Pic: Republic Records

‘The hardest-working star in pop’

The album follows last year’s The Tortured Poets Department, which was released during the Eras tour.

That tour, with shows on five continents and in 51 cities, raked in more than $2.2bn (£1.62bn) and was the highest-grossing tour of all time.

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“This album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant,” Swift said during her podcast appearance.

Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.

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Harvey Weinstein to be tried for third time in New York after mistrial on rape charge

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Harvey Weinstein to be tried for third time in New York after mistrial on rape charge

Disgraced US film producer Harvey Weinstein is to be tried for a third time in a sexual assault case.

A jury in New York could not reach a verdict in June against the 73-year-old who was accused of raping actress Jessica Mann, and a mistrial was declared.

Judge Curtis Farber has said he wants the new trial to happen before the end of this year.

The same jury found Weinstein guilty in June of sexually assaulting former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and not guilty of assaulting Polish former runway model Kaja Sokola the same year.

Weinstein will be sentenced for the guilty verdict in Ms Haley’s case on 30 September.

He denied all of the charges. Throughout the retrial, his lawyers insisted the sexual encounters with his three accusers were “transactional” and “consensual,” and labelled the women as opportunists.

Weinstein was originally convicted of rape and criminal sexual act by the same court in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison for the crimes.

Last year, however, New York’s highest court overturned the conviction, prompting Weinstein’s retrial this summer.

Weinstein was once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood – the co-founder of film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company, who produced films such as the Oscar-winning Shakespeare In Love, Pulp Fiction, and The Crying Game.

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In 2017, a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him propelled the #MeToo movement.

Some of those accusations later led to criminal charges and his convictions in New York and California.

Before the retrial, Weinstein was also serving a 16-year prison sentence after being found guilty of rape in California in December 2022. He has also denied this charge.

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TV presenter Jay Blades appears in court charged with two counts of rape

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TV presenter Jay Blades appears in court charged with two counts of rape

TV presenter Jay Blades has appeared in court charged with two counts of rape.

The 55-year-old appeared via video link at Telford Magistrates’ Court and spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth at the six-minute hearing on Wednesday.

Blades, from Claverley in Shropshire, was granted conditional bail to appear at Shrewsbury Crown Court on 10 September.

He was not required to enter pleas during his first appearance.

The presenter found fame on the furniture restoration programme The Repair Shop after he started presenting in 2017.

A furniture restorer, he was the face of the popular BBC show that featured people having their treasured objects repaired and rejuvenated until he stepped back from presenting the programme last year.

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Blades was also the presenter of the BBC’s Money For Nothing until 2020 and took part in Celebrity Masterchef, Celebrity Bake Off, and Comic Relief.

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