Keir Starmer met Taylor Swift at London concert after she was granted police escort | Politics | News

Sir Keir Starmer met Taylor Swift at one of her London concerts after Labour politicians intervened over her police escort.

It is understood the Prime Minister and his family spoke with the American pop star and her mother for about 10 minutes after he was invited to attend the Wembley gig on August 20.

The meeting was confirmed after a day of silence from Downing Street over whether Sir Keir met the star.

It comes amid questions over government intervention in talks after Swift was given a taxpayer-funded police escort usually reserved for royalty and politicians.

Earlier today, No 10 had declined to confirm whether the Prime Minister met the singer at the show.

They spoke about the Southport attack when three children were killed at a Swift-themed dance class in July and it is thought there was no discussion about security matters.

The tickets to the gig came from Universal Music and are among the items Sir Keir repaid earlier this month in a row over freebies.

The PM announced he would cover the cost of about £6,000 of gifts and hospitality he received since entering office following the donations backlash.

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.

Asked whether No 10 could rule out whether Sir Keir was given the tickets as a “thank you” after Swift got extra security in London following discussions between the Government and Met Police, 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 sell-out concerts.