Minister hits back at claims Yvette Cooper intervened to give Taylor Swift police escort

A top minister has pushed back against claims the Home Secretary personally urged the police to give a police escort to her Wembley gigs.

The US pop-star was about to embark on the second London leg of her sell-out Eras tour - just after being forced to cancel her Vienna gigs after

Speaking on Sky News, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the Home Secretary would be involved in discussions around the security risk. She said: "When you have major events, whether in London or in other parts of the UK, the Home Secretary will be involved in a conversation where there is a security risk."

But she insisted: "I also know that she doesn't have the power, nor would she use the power, to insist that any individual got the top level of private security arrangements.

"That is an operational matter for the police, not for the Government. The police made the decision. Ultimately, it is their decision, and nobody else can make it." Ms Nandy said that the PM, Home Secretary or the Mayor of London "can put their view" - but do not have the power to "override the police on this matter".

Ms Nandy added: "But you would expect the Home Secretary and the Mayor of the city where this event is taking place, given the history of what had just happened in Vienna, to be involved in the conversation about security arrangements."

It comes after reports the Home Secretary and , the Mayor of London, personally intervened and pressed for Swift to be given extra protection in the summer. According to the the police force was originally reluctant to give the Shake It Off star a motorbike convoy on the way to Wembley Stadium.

A Home Office source told The : "As you would expect with events of this size in the capital, there would be meetings between the government, police and the mayor on planning to ensure things go off safely. This is all routine. But decisions on security arrangements are made by the police independent of politicians." They added: "It’s [an] entirely operational policing decision."

A Met Police spokesman said: “The Met is operationally independent. Our decision making is based on a thorough assessment of threat, risk and harm and the circumstances of each case. It is our longstanding position that we don’t comment on the specific details of protective security arrangements.”

A spokeswoman for the Mayor of London added: “We don’t comment on the Met’s security arrangements – they are operational decisions for them.”

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