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A cabinet minister has denied top Labour politicians personally intervened to give Taylor Swift a blue-light police escort to Wembley.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and London Mayor Sadiq Khan allegedly spoke to the Metropolitan Police to encourage them to give the megastar a “VVIP escort” through London in August for her Wembley Stadium concerts.

The Met were 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, as it comes at huge expense to the taxpayer, The Sun reported.

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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.

Days before, the musician was forced to axe her shows in Vienna due to a foiled suicide bomb plot targeting her Eras tour, which the US’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) later said was intended to kill tens of thousands of people.

Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium as part of her Eras Tour.
Pic: Invision/AP
Image:
Taylor Swift pictured performing at Wembley Stadium in July. Pic: Invision/AP

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News she “utterly rejected” there was “any kind of wrongdoing” by the Labour government or London’s Labour mayor.

She said “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.

“It’s an operational matter for the police, not for the government,” she told Sky News.

Fans gather outside Wembley Stadium ahead of Taylor Swift's latest Eras Tour concert. 
Pic: PA
Image:
Fans gather outside Wembley Stadium ahead of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour concert. Pic: PA

The minister added Ms Cooper will have made a “considered judgement about that and expressed a view”.

She added: “Don’t forget that when it comes to Taylor Swift, what had just happened was that a series of concerts have been cancelled in Vienna because of the very serious security threat.

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

Ms Nandy said no politician, not even the prime minister, “has the power to override the police on this matter”.

Leading Conservative MP James Cleverly, currently the frontrunner to win the Tory leadership, has written to the home secretary asking if it is true she intervened to grant “VVIP protection” to Swift.

He also asked her whether any minister spoke to Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley about protection for Swift and if they were offered tickets to her concerts before or after decisions about her protection were made.

Mr Cleverly said motorcycle escorts provided by the Met “are not for use by private individuals or as traffic assistants for popstars”.

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Taylor Swift performs on stage during her Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium in London. Picture date: Thursday August 15, 2024. George Thompson/PA Wire
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Swift’s mother, who is her manager, reportedly threatened to pull the three August shows at Wembley. Pic: PA

A Home Office source told Sky News “this was an operational decision for the police”.

“Of course, when events of this scale take place you would expect the government, the Mayor’s Office and the Met Police to work together to ensure they can be held safely and securely,” they said.

Mr Khan’s spokesman said: “We don’t comment on the Met’s security arrangements – they are operational decisions for them.”

Sky News understands Mr Khan and Ms Cooper did discuss the tour’s security arrangements. Tickets provided to the mayor were not from Swift’s team and were offered before any security discussions took place, it’s also understood.

Yvette Cooper arrives at Downing Street.
Pic: PA
Image:
Yvette Cooper and Sadiq Khan discussed Swift’s security. Pic: PA

Pic: Reuters
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The London mayor attended one of Swift’s Wembley gigs. Pic: Reuters

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A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “The Met is operationally independent.

“Our decision making is based on a thorough assessment of threat, risk and harm and the circumstances of each case.

“It is our longstanding position that we don’t comment on the specific details of protective security arrangements.”

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No job for Tom Tugendhat in Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet as Chris Philp appointed shadow home secretary

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No job for Tom Tugendhat in Kemi Badenoch's shadow cabinet as Chris Philp appointed shadow home secretary

Tom Tugendhat is not serving in Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet, it has been revealed – as the new Tory leader continued her appointments today.

Former Home Office minister Chris Philp has been awarded the job of shadow home secretary, the last of the key posts to be announced.

A Conservative source told Sky News Mr Tugendhat was offered a job and turned it down.

Unveiling a host of appointments today, Ms Badenoch, who was elected leader of the Conservative Party last weekend, confirmed that Ed Argar would be the shadow health secretary, while James Cartlidge will take on the role of shadow defence secretary.

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Former business minister Kevin Hollinrake will shadow Angela Rayner on the housing brief, while Victoria Atkins will take on the role of shadow environment secretary.

Claire Coutinho, who was the energy secretary under Rishi Sunak, will continue in the opposition version of the role.

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Helen Whately has been appointed shadow work and pensions secretary and Andrew Griffith, the former economic secretary to the Treasury, is the new shadow business and trade secretary.

Ms Badenoch, who became Conservative leader on Saturday, started officially appointing her shadow cabinet on Sunday evening.

Yesterday Dame Priti Patel made a comeback to frontline politics after the new Conservative leader appointed her as shadow foreign secretary.

Former shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, who ran in the Tory leadership race and is considered more of a moderate than Ms Badenoch, was also made shadow chancellor.

The move has been interpreted as Ms Badenoch making an effort to unite the party following its bruising election defeat, which saw it reduced to just 121 seats.

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Robert Jenrick, who lost out to Ms Badenoch in the Tory leadership race, is the new shadow justice secretary, while Laura Trott, who previously served as chief secretary to the Treasury, was appointed shadow education secretary.

Now the Conservatives are in opposition, the shadow cabinet’s role is to scrutinise the policies and actions of the government and offer alternative policies.

Other roles that have been confirmed today include Stuart Andrew as shadow culture secretary, Gareth Bacon as shadow transport secretary, Andrew Bowie as shadow Scotland secretary, Alex Burghart as shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Mims Davies as shadow Wales secretary and shadow minister for women.

Former transport minister Jesse Norman has been appointed as shadow leader of the Commons while Richard Fuller is the new shadow chief secretary to the Treasury and Alan Mak is the new shadow science secretary.

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During the Conservative Party leadership race, Ms Badenoch suggested that all six MPs who ran against her for the top job – Mr Jenrick, Mr Tugendhat, Mr Stride, Ms Patel and James Cleverly – would be offered a job in her shadow cabinet.

Mr Cleverly, who came third in the leadership race, said on Friday he would not be joining Ms Badenoch’s top team.

It is understood Ms Badenoch will appoint the remainder of the team later in the week and on a rolling basis.

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