Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing fresh pressure after it was revealed he met Taylor Swift backstage at her gig in Wembley amid questions over the Government’s involvement in her security arrangements.
Sir Keir and his family are said to have discussed the Southport attack with the singer for ten minutes after he was invited to her gig on August 20.
The Labour leader has been facing questions on whether the Government intervened over security for the concerns after Swift was given a tax-payer funded escort.
Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, Tory Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Nigel Huddlestone, said: “It’s not a good look but it also raises questions about his judgement.
“He should be aware that this doesn’t look well in particular when he’s taking freebies when he’s also making decision to take money from pensioners.
Challenged by the network’s Kay Burley that Sir Keir had since repaid the cost of the concert tickets, Mr Huddlestone said: “Well he has now, retrospectively, but he didn’t at the time.
“So because media and others have put pressure on him he’s done that. And the scale with Keir Starmer is incomparable to anything before, clothing and so on.”
He added: “I think the question is what exactly did happen, what was given in exchange, whether it’s Taylor Swift or Downing Street passes … I don’t think we’ve had full answers to that yet.”
On Monday Downing Street had declined to confirm whether the Prime Minister met the singer at the sell-out show.
The tickets to the gig came from Universal Music and they are among the items the Prime Minister repaid earlier this month amid a row over freebies.
Sir Keir announced he would cover the cost of around £6,000 of gifts and hospitality he received since entering office following the donations backlash.
He also announced he would change ministerial hospitality arrangements to improve transparency.
Among the declarations he paid back were four tickets to see Swift at Wembley Stadium.
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 - a type of protection usually reserved for royalty and politicians.
Asked whether Number 10 could rule out Sir Keir having been given the tickets as a "thank you" over Swift’s security detail, 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 concerts.
Number 10, the Met and Mr Khan have insisted that the police force is operationally independent and decisions on policing are based on an assessment of risk based on the individual circumstances of a case.
