A police escort for Taylor Swift was not the result of "undue influence" from senior politicians attending the singer's London concerts, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said. The decision was made by senior police officers, although Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan were involved in talks about security around the US superstar's shows over the summer, Nandy said. Swift was given a motorbike convoy to protect her on the way to Wembley despite initial police reservations, the Sun reported.
Senior Labour politicians including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Khan and Nandy were given free tickets to Eras Tour shows. "I utterly reject that there's been any kind of wrongdoing or undue influence in this case," Nandy told Sky News. She said the home secretary would be involved in discussions around any security risks, particularly given that Swift's shows in Vienna were cancelled in August because of a terror threat.
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." She said: "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 Sun reported that the Metropol.