Jacob Rees-Mogg met with Steve Bannon in private
2 min read
High profile backbench MP Jacob Rees-Mogg met with a controversial former advisor of President Trump’s to discuss how conservative movements can flourish in the UK, a national newspaper has revealed.
Mr Rees-Mogg, who enjoys popular support among the Tory grassroots, met with Steve Bannon, one of the founders of far right website Breitbart News, for over an hour at a Mayfair hotel, according to the Guardian.
The meetings took place the same day Theresa May waded into a twitter spat with President Trump over his re-tweeting of far right, Islamaphobic videos from Britain First.
Mr Bannon also met with another Conservative MP and former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who is a personal friend.
Mr Rees-Mogg confirmed the encounter, saying Bannon was “an interesting man to have met” and they talked about US and UK politics. Farage also confirmed he had met Bannon.
The meetings were set up by the editor of Breitbart London Raheem Kassam, who said the men focused on “winning conservative movements on both side of the pond”.
Asked about the meetings, Mr Kassam said: “Brexit and the election of President Trump were inextricably linked, so the discussions focused on how we move forward with winning for the conservative movements on both sides of the pond, how you build movements, on the ground and digitally, and what Steve’s brand of economic nationalism – which puts the interests of ordinary people first – can do in the US and United Kingdom.”
Since June's general election, Mr Rees-Mogg has developed a substantial following among Tory activists.
He received a hero’s welcome among the grassroots at the Conservative party conference, but he has repeatedly said he has no desire to lead the party.
He has also attracted controversy over his views on issues such as abortion and foreign aid.
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