UK Asked Trump Administration for Advice on How To Combat Britain's 'Radical Right,' Report Says

British officials reportedly approached senior members of Donald Trump's administration for strategic advice on countering the growing influence of the 'radical right' in the United Kingdom shortly before Andy Burnham became prime minister.

According to a detailed report by PoliticsHome, British Ambassador Sir Christian Turner met with United States State Department officials in July to discuss priorities for the incoming government.

During the high-level diplomatic talks, British diplomats asked US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Sarah Rogers for her professional assessment of how to tackle rising political extremism.

Rogers advised that greater governmental honesty and transparency represent the most effective tools to rebuild fractured public trust.

The unusual exchange underscores a striking political crossover, positioning a Trump administration official who had previously criticised British policies as an advisor on domestic stability.

The confidential consultations also touched upon controversial immigration policies and independent inquiries into historic grooming gangs, exposing complex political alignments across the Atlantic as Westminster grapples with shifting ideological pressures.

Trump Official Points to Immigration and Public Trust

The unusual exchange came weeks after Rogers delivered a speech at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London, where she criticised British policies on immigration and free speech.

Rogers urged Britain to 'reject helplessness and reject decline', drawing a parallel between the Brexit vote and Americans voting for Trump in 2016 and saying she believed Britain could 'make the same journey'.

During the subsequent Washington meeting, she also praised the former Conservative government's Rwanda asylum scheme while discussing support for the radical right, PoliticsHome reported. However, the report did not say Rogers explicitly urged the Burnham government to revive the abandoned policy.

The Rwanda scheme sought to send some asylum seekers to the African country to have their claims processed there but was scrapped in 2024 without any enforced deportation flights taking place.

Grooming-Gang Inquiry Also Discussed

The talks reportedly moved to the politically charged debate surrounding grooming gangs and an independent inquiry backed by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe.

Lowe's privately organised investigation was crowdfunded by more than 20,000 people and examined historic sexual exploitation cases.

According to PoliticsHome, Rogers expressed concerns about how Lowe's inquiry was being conducted but suggested the British government should make court transcripts and other relevant records more readily available to the public.

She did not characterise Lowe himself as part of the 'radical right', the report said. Lowe rejected suggestions that his work was primarily political, saying it had been established to expose what he called 'systemic evil' rather than to secure political advantage.

Britain already has a separate statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, established following Baroness Louise Casey's 2025 national audit. Its final terms of reference were published in March, with the inquiry formally established under the Inquiries Act in April 2026.

Foreign Office Plays Down Significance

In response to the report, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office stressed that meetings between British and US officials were routine.

'As close allies, UK and US officials meet regularly to discuss shared priorities,' a spokesperson told PoliticsHome. The reported meeting nevertheless highlights an unusual political crossover.

A Trump administration official who had publicly criticised aspects of British policy was being asked by UK diplomats how the government might respond to growing support for political movements challenging the establishment from the right.

And her central advice, according to the report, was not a new crackdown: it was for ministers to become more transparent about the issues fuelling public distrust.

Whether the advice provided by American diplomats will influence Whitehall strategy remains to be seen. For now, the leaked exchange illustrates the interconnected nature of populist political pressures spanning both sides of the Atlantic.