Yvette Cooper DID attend Taylor Swift's concert for free
by Emily Jane Davies · Mail OnlineThe Labour freebie row continues to rumble on as it's revealed the Home Secretary enjoyed free tickets to a Taylor Swift gig where the singer was given a police escort.
Former Labour minister Ed Balls was given four tickets by her music label on August 4 and Yvette Cooper - who is his wife - went to the concert as his guest on the 16th.
And later that same month, Ms Cooper and London Mayor Sadiq Khan encouraged the Met Police to give Swift, 34, a 'VVIP escort' through London for her Wembley Stadium concerts.
The force were reportedly reluctant, because a blue-light escort is normally only provided to senior members of the Royal Family and high-level politicians and comes at huge expense to the taxpayer.
The tickets were given before Swift's shows in Vienna were cancelled following a foiled terror plot, with the suspect taken into custody on August 6.
Ms Cooper today disclosed the tickets to the Cabinet Office, despite the tickets being worth £170 which is less than the £300 that would make it a declarable expense.
Tory MP Stuart Andrew said on X that Ms Cooper's decision to attend was 'outrageous and raises some serious questions'.
Sky News reported that the Home Office department were informed when the tickets were offered and the Cabinet Office were told on 23 September.
This is in part due to initial advice that the ticket wouldn't need to be declared.
A week after a foiled terror attack plot in Vienna, Austria, against Swift, her mother and manger Andrea reportedly threatened to stop the UK August performances if a Met convoy from Wembley to her hotel was not delivered.
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Reserved for guarding motorcades carrying members of the Royal Family and world leaders, the high-profile team of elite cops includes armed motorcycle riders equipped with Glock 17 pistols.
Officers from the SEG also escort some of Britain's most dangerous prisoners and are trained in firearms tactics, anti-hijack driving and are often seen riding ahead of motorcades to stop traffic.
After the SEG's initial refusal, it is understood the office of Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley intervened.
However, there was no credible threat linked to her five-nights in London later that month.
Published figures showed that policing three nights of the tour at Wembley in June cost police £68,852.33 per night, for a total of £206,557. But Swift's five nights in north west London in August, after the bomb threat, cost £99,678.21 per night, for a total of £498,391.05.
This suggests that the August dates cost more than £30,000 per night more to police than the June ones.
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The number of officers on duty to cover the gigs also rose, from 111 per night in June, to 162 in August.
Sources claimed Ms Cooper stressed to police that any cancellation would be economically damaging and embarrassing.
Meanwhile, 10 top Labour Party members - which included the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting - bagged free tickets to Swift's gigs, sparking a fierce backlash.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy insisted the police escort for the Shake It Off star was not the result of 'undue influence' from top Labour politicians.
Ms Nandy - who was among high-profile figures from the party to receive free tickets to Swift's Eras tour show - said there was no link between the hospitality they received and Swift's police protection.
'I utterly reject that there's been any kind of wrongdoing or undue influence in this case,' she told Sky News.
Ex-Met commander John O'Connor said: 'Police should be left alone to make operational decisions.
'This interference creates a perception there is no such thing as a free lunch or concert tickets.
The Met is unable to provide security for Prince Harry but he must be in at least as much danger as Taylor Swift.'
A Met spokesman said: 'The Met is operationally independent. Our decision-making is based on a thorough assessment of threat, risk and harm and circumstances of each case.'
A Home Office source said: '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.'
A spokesman for the Mayor said: 'We don't comment on the Met's security arrangements.'
The news comes just six months after Prince Harry lost his High Court challenge against the Home Office after losing his right to police protection when he stepped down as a working royal, which included a similar police convoy.
It's the latest update in Labour's freebie saga, after it was reported Lady Victoria Starmer went to see Swift twice this summer - but did not have to pay a penny.
Having first gone to see the pop star at Wembley Stadium on June 21 with her husband, Lady Starmer then returned to the same venue for another concert without the Prime Minister on August 15.
It comes as the Starmers continue to be embroiled in a 'wardrobegate' row after the PM allegedly breached parliamentary rules by failing to declare that some of his wife's high-end clothes were bought for her by his biggest personal donor, Lord Alli.
It emerged that Lady Starmer enjoyed two free Taylor Swift concerts - as nearly 700,000 fans paid to see the star across her eight performances at Wembley.
There were several other high-profile Labour figures at the second gig she went to, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, was also among those to cash in with Taylor Swift freebies as he attended an August 20 concert after receiving four tickets and hospitality worth £3,400.
It means Cabinet ministers accepted more than £9,000 worth of Taylor Swift tickets in total over the summer.
Mr Jones, Mr Streeting and Ms Phillipson declared their tickets which have appeared on their register of members' interests.
No 10 insisted Lady Starmer's second ticket was declared, but it has not yet appeared on her husband's register of interests.
MPs are required to register gifts and donations within 28 days.
Sir Keir has also accepted suits and spectacles worth £18,865 from the millionaire businessman.