Trump administration to grant $12m to groups founded by UK conservatives Jacob Rees-Mogg and Toby Young

Toby Young, left, and Jacob Rees-Mogg speaking at the CPAC GB. The US state department intends to grant $12m to organisations run by the two conservative figures. Photograph: Shutterstock View image in fullscreen Toby Young, left, and Jacob Rees-Mogg speaking at the CPAC GB. The US state department intends to grant $12m to organisations run by the two conservative figures. Photograph: Shutterstock Trump administration to grant $12m to groups founded by UK conservatives Jacob Rees-Mogg and Toby Young Exclusive: Grants are part of controversial package criticised as misuse of public money to influence European politics Donald Trump’s state department intends to allocate $12m to organisations in the UK founded by the prominent Conservatives Jacob Rees-Mogg and Toby Young, the Guardian can reveal. The intended grants, revealed in US government documents, are part of a package of support for European groups viewed favourably by the Trump administration . Some former US officials have criticised the funding as a misuse of public money to seek influence over foreign politics. The documents reviewed by the Guardian set out details of the grants for the first time. They include $7m for 878, a “leading British and American think tank” devoted to “the rediscovery of our ancient culture” and “ending mass immigration”. Trump official allies with Europe’s far right in attacks on migration and hate speech policies Read more The 878 group lists its founding directors as Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former minister of state for Brexit opportunities, and his former special adviser Dr Radomir Tylecote, who has appeared on short-lived former prime minister Liz Truss’ YouTube show. During his appearance, he claimed: “We are not a functioning democracy at this point … it’s a worse system than in the United States.” According to the document, the funding is justified by 878’s “unique role in the United Kingdom as … a dedicated nonpartisan organisation focused on advancing fundamental freedoms”. The group appears to have been incorporated in the UK in March this year. 878’s website went live in early July, and says that its registration as a US nonprofit is “pending”. It takes its name from the year King Alfred the Great of the Saxons defeated the “Great Heathen Army”, led by a Danish warlord. The state department has also set aside $5m for Free Speech Union International, citing its work “promoting free speech and countering digital overregulation across the UK, Europe, and Australia”. The group is an offshoot of the Free Speech Union (FSU), founded by the Conservative life peer Toby Young , and acts as an umbrella organisation for international sibling groups with similar goals. The FSU describes itself as “a non-partisan, mass membership public interest body” fighting for anyone who gets into trouble for exercising their freedom of speech, from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to Palestine Action protesters. The group notes: “We take no government money and have no political ag