Taylor Swift was granted blue-light police escorts to her London shows after the Government’s chief law officer put pressure on Scotland Yard, it was claimed last night.
Sources said that Attorney General Lord Hermer was asked to intervene after the Metropolitan Police warned that giving the billionaire pop star such protection would breach its protocols.
But it was unclear who in Government had requested that its top lawyer get involved, according to reports last night. However, it was claimed that it was only after Lord Hermer wrote to the Met that senior officers reversed their original decision and granted a level of security normally reserved for royalty and top-level politicians.
The explosive claims are the latest sleaze allegations to hit the Government, which Sir Keir Starmer admitted yesterday had suffered a ‘choppy’ first 100 days.
The reports pile more pressure on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who is already facing questions about her role in the decision to give Ms Swift protection from the Special Escort Group.
Sources said that Attorney General Lord Hermer, pictured, was asked to intervene after the Metropolitan Police warned that giving the billionaire pop star such protection would breach its protocols.
The reports pile more pressure on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, left, who is already facing questions about her role in the decision to give Ms Swift protection from the Special Escort Group
Mc Cooper had previously received free tickets to Ms Swift’s Wembley gig, pictured, with her husband
She had previously received free tickets to Ms Swift’s Wembley gig with her husband.
Both Ms Cooper and London Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan are said to have spoken to the Met Police about the wider security picture, but insist that the ‘VVIP’ escort decision was left to Scotland Yard.
Last night, senior Tory MP Sir Alec Shelbrooke said: ‘This episode gets murkier by the hour.
‘First, we heard that the Home Secretary had words with the Met – now we hear the Attorney General was apparently involved as well. We now need a full and transparent explanation of how this top-level security was granted.
‘And if the Met was leant on, heads must roll.’
Former Cabinet Minister John Glen challenged the Government to come clean about any involvement by the Attorney General and called on Ms Cooper to come to the Commons this week to explain what went on.
Mr Glen also demanded to know what the Special Escort Group protection cost and whether Ms Swift’s representatives made any contribution to the bill.
Last night, Downing Street said it never commented on the work of the Attorney General, following the first reports of his involvement in the Sunday Times.
No10 also dismissed suggestions that a Minister had interferred in the Met’s decision. And a spokesman for Lord Hermer’s office said: ‘This was solely an operational decision for the police.’
During the summer, Ms Swift staged a series of concerts as part of her Eras world tour at Wembley Stadium, first in June and then in mid August.
But between those dates, three of her gigs in Austria were cancelled after the discovery that Islamic State fanatics were plotting a suicide attack on fans.
Reports said Ms Swift’s manager, her mother Andrea, then threatened to cancel the remaining concerts at Wembley unless the pop star got a police escort from her hotel.
Scotland Yard is understood to have declined the request after a risk assessment, only for the decision to be reversed after discussions with Ms Cooper and Mr Khan, who has overall responsibility for policing in the capital.
Ms Cooper, her husband ex-Labour Minister Ed Balls and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are among leading Labour figures to have attended Ms Swift’s concerts on free tickets from a variety of sources.
Writing in the Daily Mail yesterday, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the saga made Britain look like a ‘banana republic’, adding: ‘Where will it end? How many other visiting celebrities will get outriders as part of their “rider”?’
A source close to Ms Cooper made clear last night that she would reject Mr Glen’s challenge to make a Commons statement – saying no Minister would make parliamentary statements on operational policing decisions.
She refused to comment on details of any ‘Government interaction with the Met’ and insisted that ‘all operational decisions were made by the Metropolitan Police’.
But she added that, given the then security context – which in late July included three girls being stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport – it was not surprising that ‘high-level conversations’ about security were held ahead of major events.
The source added that the concerts came ‘after a fortnight of serious and violent disorder in a number of British towns and cities, following the knife attacks’, adding: ‘In the aftermath of the Manchester Arena attack on the Ariana Grande concert in 2017, security arrangements for events like these are taken extremely seriously.’
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.’