Fury as Home Secretary watched Taylor Swift for FREE days after urging cops to give star VIP blue light escort

THE Home Secretary watched Taylor Swift for escaped — days aft urging the Met to springiness the megastar an unprecedented VIP constabulary escort.

Yvette Cooper and hubby Ed Balls took the £170­­ ­Wembley freebies from Swift’s euphony statement Universal.

It is understood Ms Cooper alerted the Cabinet Office astir the jolly aft we revealed a enactment implicit information for the singer.

The Sun told yesterday however days earlier the concert, Ms Cooper pressed for a blue-lights escort for the star.

Swift’s mum and manager Andrea had threatened to axe the August shows unless a police convoy was provided. It followed a foiled termination weaponry crippled earlier a Swift gig successful Vienna a week earlier.

The Met’s Special Escort Group of motorcyclists were initially reluctant to assistance the VIP service, which comes astatine immense disbursal to ­taxpayers and is usually reserved for elder royals and politicians.

But contiguous we tin uncover it was yet offered aft talks astatine the apical of authorities with the Met. Insiders accidental the PM’s then-Chief of Staff Sue Gray played a cardinal relation successful defusing the row.

A Downing Street root defended the PM’s squad getting involved, ­saying the August concerts were “a large lawsuit for the country”.

The PM’s spokesperson said: “You would expect determination to beryllium meetings betwixt the Government, police and the mayor. I don’t person immoderate details connected the specifics of that engagement.”

Sir Keir has been deed with weeks of disapproval implicit him and ministers accepting hospitality and escaped gifts.

Tory enactment contender Robert Jenrick blasted past night: “This is simply a authorities truthful shameless they’d seemingly merchantability our constabulary for a mates of performance tickets and a relationship bracelet from billionaires.”

He added: “Three months into bureau and they are incapable to Shake Off the stench of sleaze.”

Sky News reported Mr Balls’ tickets were worthy £170 each — little than the £300 that would marque it a declarable expense. But Ms Cooper made the declaration to the Cabinet Office aboriginal yesterday.

We exclusively revealed yesterday however she and London Mayor Sadiq Khan personally intervened successful the petition for a blue-lights escort.

On August 17, up of Swift’s 7pm unrecorded show, constabulary motorcycle riders were seen speeding up the roadworthy to the backmost of Wembley Stadium.

They blocked postulation and told passers-by to basal back. More constabulary riders were seen with Swift’s information vehicles arsenic the convoy entered the stadium.

Shadow Home Secretary James Cleverly yesterday slammed the determination to usage constabulary arsenic “traffic assistance for popstars”.

He demanded Labour explicate wherefore taxpayers funded the VIP convoy. 

And helium warned the Met’s Special Escort Group (SEG) should not beryllium utilized “by backstage individuals oregon arsenic postulation assistants for popstars”.

Before Ms Cooper’s tickets declaration emerged, Mr Cleverly wrote to her and asked: “Did you oregon immoderate of your ministers talk to (Met chief) Sir Mark Rowley astir extortion for Ms Swift?

“What proposal did you oregon your ministers person from Sir Mark oregon different elder Met Police officers?”

He added: “The relation of the SEG is to service the authorities and supply nonrecreational mobile extortion for Royalty, elder ministers, and astatine times, guests of Government and State.

“It is not for usage by backstage individuals.”

Meanwhile, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News she rejected immoderate wrongdoing by the authorities oregon Labour politician Mr Khan.

Ms Nandy said: “When you person large events, whether successful London oregon successful different parts of the UK, the Home Secretary volition beryllium progressive successful a speech wherever determination is simply a information risk.

“I besides cognize she (Ms Cooper) doesn’t person the power, nor would she usage the power, to importune that immoderate idiosyncratic got the apical level of backstage information arrangements.

“That is an operational substance for the police, not for the Government.”

Ms Nandy told Sky presenter Kay Burley: “Most of Sky News were astatine these events successful these aforesaid boxes arsenic well. You were there.”

Ms Burley deed back: “I paid for my tickets up beforehand 8 months earlier. So please, don’t bash that.”

Fired-up Ms Nandy argued that arsenic agelong arsenic ministers state their freebie tickets connected the authorities registry of interests, they should beryllium allowed to bask them.

She said: “People tin and volition justice for themselves. It’s just that they bash that.” Sir Keir has offered to refund escaped tickets worthy £4,000.

But helium is not paying backmost the outgo of 4 tickets for a Swift amusement astatine Wembley successful June which helium attended with woman Victoria.

FREEBIES ROW

Meanwhile, Ms Nandy has denied a struggle of involvement for attending a Swift performance arsenic a impermanent of the Football Association.

She held meetings astatine the stadium successful the summer amid plans for an autarkic regulator to assistance oversee clubs successful England’s apical 5 tiers.

Ms Nandy explained she turned down offers of tickets from different stakeholders discussing the projected authorities due to the fact that the FA offered a much neutral position.

Asked if determination was a imaginable clash, she said: “No. This is precisely the crushed wherefore I didn’t spell with immoderate of the different stakeholders.

“There are antithetic views crossed the footballing world… I went with the FA who are supportive of the Bill but person the interests of the full of football astatine heart.”

Amid the enactment implicit freebies, the authorities has present said ministers volition person to state hospitality linked to their authorities occupation successful their MPs’ registry too.