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Sir Keir Starmer met Taylor Swift when he attended her concert at Wembley Stadium, Sky News understands.

It has emerged the prime minister and his family spoke to the pop star and her mum for 10 minutes and discussed the Southport stabbings.

The revelation comes amid questions over government intervention in talks over the security for the concerts after Swift was given a taxpayer-funded police escort despite reservations from the Met.

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Keir Starmer with wife Victoria at Taylor Swift's Wembley gig. Pic: Keir Starmer/X
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Sir Keir Starmer with wife Victoria at Taylor Swift’s Wembley gig. Pic: Keir Starmer/X

It had not been clear previously if Sir Keir and Swift had met at the gig.

There was no discussion about the provision of security for the artist, which Downing Street said was an independent operational matter for police, it is understood.

Sir Keir and his family were given free tickets to the concert on 20 August, which were declared as required, and have since been paid back.

FILE - Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium as part of her Eras Tour, June 21, 2024, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)
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Taylor Swift performing at Wembley Stadium. Pic: AP

The meeting came after the superstar cancelled gigs on her Eras Tour in Austria due to a terror threat, and the mass stabbing in Southport at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, when three young girls were killed.

Sir Keir was invited to the August show by Universal Music, which is based in his constituency of Holborn and St Pancras.

He paid back the cost of the tickets after a row over ministers accepting freebies dominated headlines during his first 100 days.

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Questions over Taylor Swift motorcade

Further questions were raised after a report in The Sun alleged Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and London Mayor Sadiq Khan spoke to the Metropolitan Police to encourage them to give the megastar a “VVIP escort”, when she returned to the capital to complete the European leg of her sell-out tour in August.

The Met was reportedly reluctant to sign it off as a blue-light escort is typically reserved for senior members of the Royal Family and high-level politicians, because it comes at huge expense to the taxpayer, the newspaper reported.

Swift’s mother Andrea, who is also her manager, apparently threatened to pull her daughter’s three shows if the police convoy was not provided.

The government has denied that senior Labour figures were given tickets to the shows in exchange for police protection, stressing the Met makes decisions independently from politicians.

Read more:
Huge scale of Starmer’s gifts and freebies revealed
Westminster Accounts: Search for your MP

Last week, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said it was down to the fact Swift’s concerts in Vienna had been cancelled due to a foiled terror attack, which was intended 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.

She 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”.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News “you would expect” the home secretary and the mayor to be involved in a conversation “where there is a security risk”, such as after the Vienna bomb plot.

“I really utterly reject that there’s been any kind of wrongdoing or undue influence in this case,” she said.

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Indonesia lists 29 licensed crypto platforms as global exchanges explore market

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Indonesia lists 29 licensed crypto platforms as global exchanges explore market

Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) has published a whitelist of 29 licensed crypto platforms, officially spelling out which exchanges are legally allowed to operate in the country. 

The list, which includes names of entities and their apps or platforms, is meant to serve as an official reference for users to verify whether a provider is properly licensed before trading. 

OJK has urged the public to transact only with entities on the list and to treat unlisted platforms as unlicensed operators.

Indonesia, Cryptocurrency Exchange
South Korea’s largest exchange, Upbit, is included among licensed exchanges. Source: OJK

​Global crypto players eyeing Indonesia

The clarification of who can legally offer crypto services lands as global players move to lock in Indonesian footholds.

Robinhood signed deals earlier this month to acquire Indonesian brokerage Buana Capital and licensed digital asset trader PT Pedagang Aset Kripto, a move that gives it entry to a market with more than 19 million capital‑market investors and about 17 million crypto traders.

Related: Indonesia’s digital rupiah CBDC to get ‘stablecoin’ companion backed by government bonds

Hong Kong–based OSL Group completed its acquisition of licensed local exchange Koinsayang in September, securing regulatory approval to offer spot and derivatives trading.

Related: Survey finds 6 in 10 of Asia’s rich plan to ramp up crypto buying

Tightening oversight of digital assets

The whitelist follows OJK Regulation No. 23/2025, which tightens oversight of digital financial assets, including crypto and related derivatives. The rule bars exchanges from facilitating trades in assets that are not registered or approved by a licensed digital asset exchange, and it introduces a framework for digital asset derivatives that requires prior OJK approval at the exchange level. 

Platforms must implement margin mechanisms via segregated funds or digital assets, and consumers have to pass a knowledge test before accessing derivatives. These are measures the regulator said were designed to align with international supervisory standards and strengthen investor protection.

Related: Ripple’s big Singapore win: What the expanded license allows now

Among fastest-growing markets worldwide

Indonesia’s tightening grip on licensing comes as the country cements its place as a major crypto market. Robinhood and industry data providers describe Indonesia as one of Southeast Asia’s fastest‑growing crypto economies, with tens of millions of investors across capital markets and digital assets. 

Chainalysis’ 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index places Indonesia in the global top 10 for crypto adoption and notes that the country has been among the most dynamic markets worldwide, highlighting its growing presence in global digital asset activity.