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While London’s legion of Swifties descended on Wembley stadium, trading friendship bracelets and preparing to shake it off along the way, a row over a police escort was taking place in the heart of Downing Street.
In an unusual move, the Metropolitan Police provided Taylor Swift with a tax-payer-funded escort to her highly anticipated Eras Tour shows. Such measures are usually reserved for senior royalty and major government officials.
Attorney General, Lord Hermer KC, has been dragged into the row after claims emerged that he pressed the Metropolitan Police into granting the singer a taxpayer-funded blue-light escort.
Despite an initial reluctance, the Met eventually provided the enhanced security because of safety concerns following a foiled alleged terror plot in Austria.
But the decision has raised questions about security protocols and the alleged political influence in policing – with Sir Keir Starmer now facing growing calls to order an independent probe.
How was the Attorney General dragged into the Swift row?
Scotland Yard initially dismissed the idea of granting Taylor Swift enhanced security for two of her Eras Tour concerts, warning that granting the US star “VVIP” protection would breach its long-standing protocols.
However, the stance reportedly shifted after Lord Hermer KC was asked to intervene. The government’s top lawyer is believed to have given the Met Police “legal cover” to grant the pop megastar’s protection.
But it remains unclear who in government had requested that its top lawyer get involved.
The Independent previously reported that Yvette Cooper and Sadiq Khan discussed security arrangements to ensure the safety of concertgoers following the foiled terrorist attack on an Era’s tour show in Vienna, Austria.
According to Sadiq Khan, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley was the only one responsible for operational matters at the time. The Mayor of London told an assembly meeting that questions over security were only for Sir Mark to answer.
He said: “Operational matters are matters for the police, not matters for the mayor, and I’ve never interfered in operational matters as far as the police are concerned.”
And a spokesman for Lord Hermer claimed the decision was “solely an operational decision for the police”.
Following the intervention claims, former defence minister Alec Shelbrooke demanded a probe.
Mr 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.”
What led to the police escort decision?
The popstar performed in Wembley in August just days after pulling out of three planned concerts in Vienna.
Austrian authorities arrested a 19-year-old man for allegedly planning an attack. According to officials, he pledged allegiance to Isis.
Following the foiled plot, policing minister Diana Johnson said Scotland Yard would look at “all the intelligence” ahead of Swift’s returning to the UK for a series of concerts.
The star’s mother, Andrea Swift, who is also her manager, demanded organisers police escort for the singer.
But pressure grew after she threatened to cancel the concerts in London if it was not granted. One source told The Guardian: “The mum made a series of security demands given what had happened in Vienna.”
Why did Taylor Swift receive a special police escort?
Although a Met’s security assessment reportedly found no specific threats against her following a risk assessment, reports claim the government was warned over a potential economic fallout from a potential cancellation.
A Downing Street source speaking toThe Sun defended the move, saying the August concerts were “a major event for the country”.
Swift and her team were then provided with a police convoy by the Special Escort Group (SEG).
But the move raised eyebrows among the opposition, with former minister James Cleverly writing to Cooper to ask whether she had personally made representations.
In his letter, Cleverly asked whether any ministers spoke to the Met chief about Swift’s police protection and whether they accepted tickets to her concerts before or after decisions were made about the security arrangements.
What has the government said?
Meanwhile, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy denied claims that a police escort for was the result of “undue influence” from senior politicians, including the home secretary and the mayor of London.
“I utterly reject that there’s been any kind of wrongdoing or undue influence in this case,” 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.
“The police made the decision. Ultimately, it is their decision, and nobody else can make it.”
The Independent has contacted Lord Hermer KC, the Home Office, Yvette Cooper, and the Mayor of London for comment.
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