A cabinet minister has denied top Labour politicians personally intervened to give Taylor Swift a blue-light police escort to Wembley.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and London Mayor Sadiq Khan allegedly spoke to the Metropolitan Police to encourage them to give the megastar a “VVIP escort” through London in August for her Wembley Stadium concerts.
The Met were reportedly reluctant to sign it off as a blue-light escort is typically reserved for senior members of the Royal Family and high-level politicians, as it comes at huge expense to the taxpayer, The Sun reported.
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Swift’s mother Andrea, who is also her manager, apparently threatened to pull her daughter’s three shows if the police convoy was not provided.
Days before, the musician was forced to axe her shows in Vienna due to a foiled suicide bomb plot targeting her Eras tour, which the US’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) later said was intended to kill tens of thousands of people.
Taylor Swift pictured performing at Wembley Stadium in July. Pic: Invision/AP
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News she “utterly rejected” there was “any kind of wrongdoing” by the Labour government or London’s Labour mayor.
She said “you would expect” the home secretary and the mayor to be involved in a conversation “where there is a security risk”, such as after the Vienna bomb plot.
“It’s an operational matter for the police, not for the government,” she told Sky News.
Fans gather outside Wembley Stadium ahead of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour concert. Pic: PA
The minister added Ms Cooper will have made a “considered judgement about that and expressed a view”.
She added: “Don’t forget that when it comes to Taylor Swift, what had just happened was that a series of concerts have been cancelled in Vienna because of the very serious security threat.
“I really utterly reject that there’s been any kind of wrongdoing or undue influence in this case.”
Ms Nandy said no politician, not even the prime minister, “has the power to override the police on this matter”.
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Swift’s mother, who is her manager, reportedly threatened to pull the three August shows at Wembley. Pic: PA
A Home Office source told Sky News “this was an operational decision for the police”.
“Of course, when events of this scale take place you would expect the government, the Mayor’s Office and the Met Police to work together to ensure they can be held safely and securely,” they said.
Mr Khan’s spokesman said: “We don’t comment on the Met’s security arrangements – they are operational decisions for them.”
Sky News understands Mr Khan and Ms Cooper did discuss the tour’s security arrangements. Tickets provided to the mayor were not from Swift’s team and were offered before any security discussions took place, it’s also understood.
Yvette Cooper and Sadiq Khan discussed Swift’s security. Pic: PA
The London mayor attended one of Swift’s Wembley gigs. Pic: Reuters
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A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “The Met is operationally independent.
“Our decision making is based on a thorough assessment of threat, risk and harm and the circumstances of each case.
“It is our longstanding position that we don’t comment on the specific details of protective security arrangements.”