No 10 denies Swift tickets were 'thank you' to Starmer

Downing Street has denied Sir Keir Starmer received escaped Taylor Swift tickets arsenic a "thank you" for the vocalist getting a constabulary escort to her concerts astatine Wembley successful August.

Swift was fixed a motorbike convoy to support her connected the mode to the London stadium contempt archetypal reservations astir the statement from the police.

The premier curate met the vocalist backstage aft the show, it has emerged.

He received 4 tickets worthy £2,800 from the singer’s grounds statement Universal Music for 1 of her concerts that month. Sir Keir aboriginal paid backmost Universal for the outgo of the tickets.

Asked if they were a "thank you" for Downing Street leaning connected the Metropolitan Police, the PM’s authoritative spokesperson said: “I wholly cull that characterisation”.

“It’s yet up to the constabulary to instrumentality operational decisions successful narration to these large events,” helium said.

It's understood the premier curate and his household had a 10 infinitesimal chat with Swift and her parent Andrea, and the speech solely covered the Southport attacks, which took spot astatine a Taylor Swift-themed creation workshop.

Two authorities sources person told the BBC that elder members of Starmer’s squad had interaction with the singer’s absorption implicit her information arrangements.

Downing Street refused to contradict this but a spokesperson said: “It is close for the authorities to person conversations and a dialog astir the arrangements pertaining to large events to guarantee that these spell guardant safely and smoothly”.

Government sources said Starmer received tickets from Universal Music due to the fact that the institution is based successful his cardinal London constituency.

Labour politicians who person received escaped tickets to Taylor Swift concerts successful caller months see main caput to the Treasury Darren Jones and newly-elected MP for Beckenham and Penge Liam Conlon, the lad of Starmer’s erstwhile main of unit Sue Gray.

Conlon has not responded to an enquiry from the BBC arsenic to whether helium utilized his 2 tickets to instrumentality his parent to the concert.

Last week it emerged Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan were progressive successful talks astir information astir the US superstar's shows implicit the summer, pursuing the cancellation of her Vienna gigs owed to a foiled panic plot.

Cooper and Khan some received escaped tickets to the Wembley shows.

The location caput attended with tickets fixed to her hubby Ed Balls, a Good Morning Britain presenter. Khan was fixed tickets by the Football Association, which owns the stadium.

A root adjacent to the location caput said past week: "The London Taylor Swift concerts successful August came instantly aft the cancellation of her Vienna concerts, pursuing the find of a panic crippled which the CIA’s lawman manager said was designed to termination 'tens of thousands' of attendees, and which led to wide questions astir whether the London concerts would spell ahead.

"They besides came aft a fortnight of superior and convulsive upset successful a fig of British towns and cities, which followed the unspeakable onslaught connected a Taylor Swift-themed creation people successful Southport.

"In the aftermath of the Manchester Arena onslaught connected the Ariana Grande performance successful 2017, information arrangements for events similar these are taken highly seriously.

"Indeed, the authorities volition soon legislate for Martyn’s Law to amended the information of venues.

"We tin marque categorically wide that each operational decisions were made by the Metropolitan Police and they bash not sermon information arrangements."

The root told the BBC she had tried to state the summons connected her parliamentary registry of interests but was told she was incapable to due to the fact that it was beneath £300, which is the threshold for declarations, and due to the fact that it was talented to her hubby alternatively than to Cooper directly.

The root said she subsequently contacted the Cabinet Office successful September to effort to see it successful her ministerial declarations and had formally done truthful connected Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said the unit was "operationally independent".

"Our decision-making is based connected a thorough appraisal of threat, hazard and harm and the circumstances of each case," the spokesperson said.

The unit added it would not remark connected circumstantial details of information arrangements.

A Home Office spokesperson reiterated the Met Police's operational independency but said the politician and location caput would beryllium progressive successful conversations connected large-scale events.

The spokesperson besides quoted Swift's remarks aft the foiled Vienna panic plot: "I decided that each of my vigor had to spell toward helping to support the astir fractional a cardinal radical I had coming to spot the shows successful London.

"My squad and I worked manus successful manus with stadium unit and British authorities each time successful pursuit of that goal, and I privation to convey them for everything they did for us."

The vocalist held 3 shows astatine Wembley Stadium successful June and 5 successful August.

London's City Hall said it would not remark connected the Met's information arrangements.

The premier curate was fixed 10 tickets successful full implicit 3 concerts.

He has paid backmost astir £3,400 for 4 Taylor Swift tickets donated by Universal Music Group and 2 by the Football Association.

He has not returned £4,000 worthy of Taylor Swift tickets received from the Premier League earlier helium became premier minister.