Taylor Swift’s police escort during her Eras Tour shows in London has led to a political scandal in Britain—as well as allegations of a “double standard” in connection with Prince Harry.
The Shake It Off singer was dragged into the major political storm engulfing the new Labour government after allegations that the home secretary pressured police to provide her with an escort from her hotel to Wembley Stadium. Lisa Nandy, the government’s culture secretary, denied the allegation on Sky News and cited the foiled terror plot in Vienna as grounds for the decision, which she said had been made independently by officers.
However, the saga has sparked comparisons with security for Prince Harry, whose round-the-clock protection team was removed after he quit his royal duties in 2020, despite his protestations that he, Meghan Markle and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, were at risk from terrorists and the far right.
Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, author of This Is Why I Resist and a prominent commentator in Britain on both the royals and British politics, told Newsweek: “I’d say there’s a double standard. There’s people trying to politicize the Metropolitan Police actions in giving Taylor Swift protection, but that was the right thing to do.
“Why would you let her go up and down without police protection, knowing fully well that there were the terror alerts? And the same can be said for Prince Harry. “The same grounds that exist for giving her protection are the same grounds that exist for giving Prince Harry protection, especially since his reasons are long-standing,” Mos-Shogbamimu said.
Harry and Meghan experienced a scare when a suspicious-looking white powder, sent alongside a racist note addressed to them, was intercepted on its way to Kensington Palace in February 2018. The powder was tested and found to be harmless. The prince sued the British government in an effort to overturn its decision to strip him of his police bodyguards and lost twice, although he is pursuing an appeal.
Among his arguments was that his and Meghan’s police bodyguards should have remained in place even after they quit their roles within the monarchy, based on the threat level. Harry has at times been given police protection in the past four years but only when going to and from royal events for which he had an invite from his family, Newsweek has previously been told. The decision regarding Swift comes after the Manchester bombing in 2017, in which 22 people were killed when Salman Abedi detonated a suicide bomb at an Ariana Grande concert.
The Labour government in Britain is currently facing multiple allegations that free gifts and hospitality were taken from donors who may have had a vested interest. Prime Minister Keir Starmer accepted Swift concert tickets for himself and his wife, Victoria, to a Wembley show, though he has since paid back the money. The Sun reported that Swift’s mother had threatened to cancel the shows unless a police team was provided and that Labour Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Labour London Mayor Sadiq Khan stepped in to exert pressure on the Metropolitan Police.
The newspaper suggested the police were reluctant because of the high level of cost to taxpayers. The allegations—which have been denied—risk supporting Harry’s argument that members of the royal household may have interfered to stop him from getting security. “I do not have a problem with Taylor Swift having that police protection,” Mos-Shogbamimu said. “I think it is appropriate because of the terrorist alarm, which is what caused them to cancel the shows [in Austria this past August]. “We all know what happened with Ariane Grande in Manchester, so of course it makes absolute sense that there’s a police escort,” she continued. “Where she was able to get a police escort because she’s in the country, and because of the reports and death threats of terrorism and the like, the same should be afforded to Prince Harry, who faces the same if not more.
“The threats, the death threats—and I would call it domestic terrorism that he and his family face—is real, so it does make sense that he gets police protection,” Mos-Shogbamimu said. Nandy was asked about the controversy by Kay Burley on Sky News and replied: “It’s an operational matter for the police, not for the government.” She went on: “Don’t forget that when it comes to Taylor Swift, what had just happened was that a series of concerts have been canceled in Vienna because of the very serious security threat. I really utterly reject that there’s been any kind of wrongdoing or undue influence in this case.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said in a statement: “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.”
