Row erupts after Labour ‘pressed’ cops into Taylor’s ‘royal’ escort as Kay Burley blasts ‘at least I PAID for tickets’
FURIOUS Lisa Nandy today admitted that Labour politicians were involved in talks with the Met about giving Taylor Swift a blue-light escort to Wembley.
But the Culture Secretary Secretary denied that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and London Mayor Sadiq Khan personally pushed for a police escort for Swift herself.
Ms Nandy also insisted there was no connection between a handful of cabinet ministers receiving freebie tickets to watch the show and Swift receiving state-funded security.
Last night The Sun revealed that cops were reluctant to grant the pop star a VVIP service — which comes at a huge expense to the taxpayer.
However, senior cops agreed to it after personal interventions by Ms Cooper and Mr Khan.
VVIP protection is usually for senior royalty and politicians.
READ MORE POLITICS
Defending the move, Ms Nandy told Sky News: “When you have major events, whether in London or in other parts of the UK, the Home Secretary will be involved in a conversation where there is a security risk.
“I also know that she doesn’t have the power, nor would she use the power, to insist that any individual got the top level of private security arrangements.
“That is an operational matter for the police, not for the Government.”
PM Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Khan were among a handful of Cabinet Swifties who received free tickets for the Wembley gigs.
Sir Keir has offered to refund free tickets worth £4,000 – but he is not paying back the cost of four tickets for a show in June he attended with his wife Victoria.
On Sky News Ms Nandy rowed with presenter Kay Burley as she insisted ministers did not push for police protection to bag box seats to the show.
The Culture Secretary blasted: “Neither the Prime Minister nor the Home Secretary, nor the Mayor of London has the power to override the police on this matter.
“It is an operational decision for the police.
“Most of Sky News were at these events in these same boxes as well.
“You were there.”
Ms Burley hit back: “I paid for my tickets.
“I paid for mine up front eight months earlier. So please, don’t do that.”
Fired up Ms Nandy argued that as long as ministers declare their freebie tickets on the government register of interests, they should be allowed to enjoy them.
She said: “People can judge for themselves and people will judge for themselves. It’s fair that they do that.
“But the suggestion that the Home Secretary intervened and made a decision about security arrangements for Taylor Swift is simply not true.”
Escort will divide opinion
THE special police escort provided for Taylor Swift will divide opinion.
On the one hand, the Home Secretary and London Mayor deserve congratulations for helping to ensure the US singer’s concerts went ahead in August.
But the flip side of the coin entailed sacrificing the principles and protocols of the Met’s elite Special Escort Group.
Their role is to serve the state and provide professional – and often armed – mobile protection for Royalty and senior Government ministers.
Using them as traffic assistants for a pop star denigrates their purpose.
It was understandable that Taylor Swift and her mother should have been alarmed by the events in Vienna and the cancellation of three shows there.
However, the concerts could easily have gone ahead there and I strongly suspect they would have done so in this country.
The Vienna suspects had all been rounded up and the bomb-making material found was crude and unviable.
There was no intelligence of any threat to Swift’s London concerts.
So at the risk of inflaming Swifties, it feels to me like a pop princess, or her mother, believed they were too important to be caught up in traffic like mere commoners.
The politicians did well to pamper the Swifts – but at what cost?
The Met’s Special Escort Group of motorcyclists has a strict policy of not being used for private individuals.
It is understood that chiefs opposed providing protection for billionaire Swift, 34, and her entourage.
Ex-Met commander John O’Connor insisted: “Police should be left alone to make operational decisions.
“This interference creates a perception there is no such thing as a free lunch or concert tickets. The Met is unable to provide security for Prince Harry but he must be in at least as much danger as Taylor Swift.
“The SEG is dedicated to the very serious business of protecting the Royal Family, senior government ministers and foreign heads of state. This is an abuse of an elite service.”
Three of Swift’s shows were axed in Vienna over fears of terrorism.
An intelligence assessment was then carried out by UK police and MI5 but there was no information of a threat to the US star’s Wembley shows.
But sources said her mum demanded a police escort for the journey to and from Wembley from a hotel.
One source said: “There was a great deal of concern about security in the Swift camp and they were threatening to call off the shows unless there was a police escort.
“The SEG has a specific role and do not provide security cover for any private individuals, no matter how important.”
After the SEG’s initial refusal, it’s understood the office of Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley intervened.
Sources say Ms Cooper stressed to the Met that any cancellation would be economically damaging and embarrassing.
But SEG controllers are said to have remained steadfast.
A source said: “At this point, Mayor Khan stepped in and contacted the Met.
“The Mayor had apparently been contacted by the Home Secretary’s office and Swift’s management.
“The involvement of the Home Secretary and Mayor effectively amounts to applying pressure.
“The SEG finally agreed to make an exception to their policy and the Vienna terrorist arrests were used to justify the decision.
But there was no specific threat to Swift and the SEG were not happy about being used as her private bodyguards. They feel their position and role has been undermined.”
None of the SEG officers was armed as they normally are for official State duties.
Ordinary police motorcyclists were used at Swift’s Edinburgh and Cardiff gigs.
She thanked the police for helping her Wembley gigs to go ahead.
She said: “We commend the police for their work to ensure these events went off smoothly and safely.”