Taylor Swift received blue light police escort to her London show after the head of the government's legal department put pressure on Scotland Yard, it was claimed last night.
Sources said Attorney General Lord Hermer was asked to intervene after the Metropolitan Police warned that giving such protection to the billionaire pop star would breach their protocols.
But it was unclear who in the government requested his top lawyer's involvement, according to reports last night. However, it has been 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 high-level politicians.
The explosive allegations are the latest vulgar allegations to target the Government, which Sir Keir Starmer admitted yesterday had suffered a 'hectic' first 100 days.
The reports increase pressure on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who is already facing questions over her role in the decision to give Ms Swift protection from the Special Escort Group.
Sources said Attorney General Lord Hermer, pictured, was asked to intervene after the Metropolitan Police warned that giving such protection to the billionaire pop star would breach its protocols.
The reports increase pressure on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, left, who is already facing questions over 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 concert, pictured, with her husband
She had previously received free tickets to Swift's Wembley concert with her husband.
Both Ms Cooper and London's Labor mayor Sadiq Khan are said to have spoken to the Metropolitan Police about the wider security picture, but insist the 'VVIP' escort decision was left to Scotland Yard.
Last night Conservative MP Sir Alec Shelbrooke said: 'This episode gets darker by the hour.
'First we heard that the Home Secretary spoke to the Met – now we hear that the Attorney General was also apparently involved. We now need a full and transparent explanation of how this high-level security was granted.
'And if the Met were supported, heads should roll.'
Former Cabinet minister John Glen challenged the government to clarify any Attorney-General involvement and called on Ms Cooper to come to the House of Commons this week to explain what happened.
Glen also demanded to know how much the Special Escort Group's protection costs and whether Ms. Swift's representatives made any contributions to the project.
Last night, Downing Street said it had never commented on the Attorney-General's work, following the first reports of his involvement in the Sunday Times.
No10 also rejected suggestions that a Minister had interfered in the Met's decision. And a spokesman for Lord Hermer's office said: “This was purely an operational decision by the police.”
Over the summer, Swift performed 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 their concerts in Austria were canceled after it was discovered that Islamic State fanatics were planning a suicide attack on fans.
Reports say Swift's manager, her mother Andrea, threatened to cancel her remaining Wembley shows unless the pop star got a police escort to her hotel.
It is understood that Scotland Yard refused the request following a risk assessment, but the decision was reversed following discussions with Ms Cooper and Mr Khan, who has overall responsibility for policing in the capital.
Cooper, her husband, former Labor minister Ed Balls, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are among the leading Labor figures who have attended Swift's concerts with free tickets from a variety of sources.
Writing in the Daily Mail yesterday, former prime minister Boris Johnson said the saga had made Britain look like a “banana republic”, adding: “Where will it end? How many other visiting celebrities will have scouts as part of their “pilot”?'
A source close to Cooper made it clear last night that he would reject Mr Glen's challenge to make a statement in the Commons – saying no minister would make parliamentary statements about 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 security context of the time – 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 measures were carried out before the event. big events.
The source added that the concerts took place “following two weeks of serious and violent disorder in several British cities, following knife attacks”, adding: “Following the Manchester Arena attack on Ariana Grande's concert in 2017, security arrangements for events like these are taken extremely seriously.'
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “The Met is operationally independent. Our decision-making is based on a thorough assessment of threats, risks and damages and the circumstances of each case.
“It is our long-standing position that we do not comment on the specific details of protective security mechanisms.”
