British officials sought advice from the US State Department on how to respond to the growing influence of the “radical right” in the UK, according to people familiar with a diplomatic meeting in Washington.
The discussions took place in July, shortly before Prime Minister Andy Burnham entered Downing Street, when Britain’s ambassador to the US, Sir Christian Turner, held talks with officials at the State Department about the new government’s priorities.
According to PoliticsHome, British diplomats asked Sarah Rogers, a senior US official and ally of Donald Trump, for advice on addressing the rise of the “radical right” in Britain.
The discussion reportedly referred to speeches Rogers delivered at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London in June, where she criticised what she described as “tyrannical” restrictions on free speech and “open border” policies.
Rogers urged her British audience to “reject helplessness and reject decline”, while arguing that the British national character would ultimately prevail. She also predicted that Britain could experience a political revolution comparable with the movement that brought Trump to power in the US in 2016.
During the meeting with British officials, Rogers is reported to have advocated greater transparency and honesty as a means of rebuilding public confidence in government.
She is also understood to have suggested that reviving the previous government’s Rwanda migration scheme could help address support for the radical right.
The discussions also reportedly covered an independent inquiry into rape and grooming gangs conducted by Rupert Lowe, leader of Restore Britain. The review was funded by more than 20,000 members of the public and raised more than £600,000.
Its report argued that the gangs “operated with either the active or passive consent of public authorities” and called for changes to sentencing and the deportation of foreign nationals convicted of offences.
Rogers is reported to have raised concerns about the way Lowe conducted the inquiry while encouraging British officials to make government transcripts and other material relating to the scandal publicly available.
She is also understood to have stopped short of identifying Lowe himself as part of the radical right.
Lowe rejected the suggestion that the inquiry was primarily political.
“The country has been undermined by a philosophy which empowers the minority (often unsound) at the expense of the majority, which is Orwellian.
“I would be surprised if Sarah Rogers has a view on our Independent Rape Gang Inquiry crowd-funded by over 20,000 concerned people.
“It was done in order to expose systemic evil, and not for political gain.”
The debate over access to court transcripts comes as the UK government continues to face pressure over its handling of grooming-gang cases. In June 2025, the government launched an independent inquiry following Baroness Casey’s review.
The reported exchanges illustrate the increasingly close relationship between political debates in Britain and the US, particularly over immigration, free speech and the growth of rightwing movements.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “As close allies, UK and US officials meet regularly to discuss shared priorities.
“We are committed to ensuring that our trade and security continues to deliver real benefits for hardworking people on both sides of the Atlantic.”
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