Keir Starmer met Taylor Swift at London gig
It is understood that the Prime Minister and his family talked with the pop star and her mother for around 10 minutes.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met Taylor Swift at one of her London concerts as the pair discussed the Southport attack.
It is understood that Sir Keir and his family talked with the pop star and her mother for around 10 minutes after he was invited to attend the Wembley gig on August 20, as first reported by The Sun.
It comes amid questions over Government intervention in talks over the security for the concerts after Swift was given a taxpayer-funded police escort.
Earlier on Monday Downing Street had declined to confirm whether the Prime Minister met the singer at the sell-out show, but it is now understood that the meeting took place.
The conversation centred around the Southport attack, and it is thought there was no discussion about security matters when they met.
The tickets to the gig came from Universal Music and they are among the items the Prime Minister repaid earlier this month amid a row over freebies.
Sir Keir announced he would cover the cost of around £6,000 of gifts and hospitality he received since entering office following the donations backlash, as well as committing to changing ministerial hospitality arrangements to improve transparency.
Among the declarations he paid back were four tickets to see Swift at Wembley Stadium which were received on August 20 from UMG, the musician’s record label.
It emerged last week that London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper were involved in talks over security for the gigs after which Swift was granted a blue-light escort – a type of protection usually reserved for royalty and politicians.
Asked whether Number 10 could rule out Sir Keir having been given the tickets as a “thank you” after discussions between Government and the force were followed by Swift getting security while in London, a spokesman said: “I completely reject that characterisation because it’s ultimately up to the police to take operational decisions in relation to the security of these major events.”
Downing Street has cited the terror threat faced by Swift in Vienna, which forced her to cancel gigs on the Austrian leg of her Eras tour, as one of the reasons the Government was involved in security talks for her London shows.
Labour figures including Sir Keir, Mr Khan and Ms Cooper accepted free tickets to the concerts.
Number 10 and the Met have insisted that the police force is operationally independent and decisions on policing are based on an assessment of risk based on the individual circumstances of a case.
Mayor of London Mr Khan said on Monday: “What I’d say to people who aren’t aware is that our police have operational independence, whether it’s policing a protest, whether it’s policing a concert, a sporting event, New Year’s Eve fireworks.
“The Government – the Home Secretary is included in that – myself as the mayor, speak regularly with the Met Police Service about a whole host of security issues and, of course, we’re going to raise the issue of security around world-breaking concerts.”
