Dear oh dear. It transpires that the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper received a free concert ticket to Taylor Swift’s shows in the summer – like many of her Labour colleagues. The revelation comes a day after the now-ousted Tory leadership candidate James Cleverly attacked Cooper over claims that the police had been pressed to provide extra protection for Taylor Swift. How very curious…
On Wednesday, it was revealed that Cooper had personally intervened to ensure the US pop star received a police convoy to her Wembley shows in London. After a terror attack on Swift’s Vienna tours was foiled, it was claimed that the singer’s mother – and manager – was threatening to cut Swift’s London shows unless top level police support was provided. Despite Met chiefs being reluctant to grant Swift ‘VVIP’ service – usually reserved for senior royals and top politicians – Cooper and London Mayor Sadiq Khan personally persuaded the force to provide additional protection for the singer and her entourage, at the taxpayer’s expense.
It has now emerged that both the Home Secretary and the London Mayor attended the singer’s shows, with Cooper even receiving a free Swift ticket not so long before getting involved in Swift’s security measures. Hardly a Cruel Summer for her, eh? Attending as a guest of Taylor’s music label, Universal Music, Cooper went with her husband Ed Balls – who received four tickets, with his wife’s pass thought to be worth £170. The Home Secretary did not declare the gift as it was below the £300 threshold, however the Times understands Cooper offered to make public the donation – eventually doing so yesterday.
While Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy was adamant that there was no ‘wrongdoing or undue influence in this case’, shadow home secretary Cleverly fumed on Wednesday that the use of the Special Escort Group is ‘not for use by private individuals or as traffic assistants for pop stars’ in a quizzical letter to Cooper. And the whole matter certainly does nothing for Labour’s optics in light of the freebie fiasco and the multiple cronyism rows. Rules for thee, but not for me!
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