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Jacob Rees-Mogg met with Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Donald Trump, on Thursday to discuss conservative political strategy, according to reports.

The Tory backbencher, who is a favourite among fellow Conservatives to be the next party leader, spent more than an hour at the meeting in a Mayfair hotel, according to The Guardian.

Mr Bannon, the CEO of far-right American news service Breitbart, is also believed to have met with former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, an old friend, while in Mayfair.

Formerly a chief adviser to Mr Trump, Mr Bannon was forced out of the White House in August amid a series of controversies.

The meetings were reportedly arranged by Breitbart London editor Raheem Kassam, a former chief of staff under Mr Farage.

Asked about the meetings, Mr Kassam told The Guardian: “Brexit and the election of President Trump were inextricably linked...

"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.”

In mid-September last year, Mr Rees-Mogg said that he would “almost certainly vote for Trump if I was American”.

He later retracted this statement, saying: "I could not personally vote for either candidate so would have to abstain."

Known for what he calls his "traditional views", Mr Rees-Mogg caused controversy recently when he said men should not call themselves feminists and it would be “ridiculous” for him describe himself as one.

The outspoken MP, who is tipped as a potential replacement for Theresa May as Tory leader, was asked whether he was a feminist during a discussion at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

He responded by saying while he supports feminists he was not one himself, arguing it should be down to women to decide whether someone is a feminist.

He said: “You have asked me to put a label on myself which, if I applied to myself, would make me sound ridiculous.”

He also provoked outcry when he told Good Morning Britain presenters Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid that he "opposed abortion in all circumstances".

He said at the time: "Life is sacrosanct and begins at the point of conception, and I think it is wrong.”

Mr Rees-Mogg has repeatedly dodged questions surrounding his intention to run for the position of Tory Party leader in the future.