Angela Rayner has defended Taylor Swift being given a blue-light escort through London as they “needed to make sure she was safe”.
The deputy prime minister denied senior Labour figures, including the home secretary and London mayor, were given tickets to Swift’s August shows in the capital in exchange for police protection.
Ms Rayner reiterated what other Labour politicians have said, that the decision to give the megastar a police escort was “an operational decision” by the Met Police.
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“I absolutely dispute that somehow that this was, in any way, connected to whether somebody went to a concert or not,” she said.
She said it was down to the fact Swift’s concerts in Vienna had been cancelled due to a foiled terror attack, which was meant to kill tens of thousands of fans.
“We needed to make sure that that person was safe. And it was a policing matter, not an issue for politicians. It was the police that make the decision,” she said.
“It’s right that they make the decision. And I fully support them in that.”
Ms Rayner added that police provided the security to ensure Swift could continue with the concerts “which brought in huge amounts of investment of money into our economy, including those small businesses that need that support”.
Sky News reported on Wednesday Ms Cooper’s husband, former Labour MP Ed Balls, had been given free tickets by Swift’s label Universal and she went as his guest.
Mr Balls was offered the four tickets on 4 August, before Swift’s shows in Vienna were cancelled, and the couple attended the gig on 16 August after the security…
