Where is Harry?

[Rhaidimiddim]

Just that.

I’m assuming that the terrorist threat was high enough to consider extra protection needed for transport getting to and from the venue rather than risk cancelling the concert.

The Sun article implied there was political interference - I think they were just trying to a bit of a hit piece on the mayor.

There were quite a few politicians who had accepted free tickets to Taylor’s shows, though. I think this was the political angle. People wanted to know if the free tickets were in exchange for security. I have no idea if this is the case or not but it does seem to have been another mis step 🤷‍♀️

Has he left for good, though? I wish! If I could be sure, I wouldn't give him another thought.

Instead, he was trying to get back in to the RF gig earlier this year, and seems to be trying to get back in continually at the moment. Back to a status where he would be paid for by me, would represent my country on an international stage, with me expected to call him "Sir" and step out of his way, should I meet him at the Windsor Farm Shop.

And if he can't have that gig, he wants me to pay for 24/7 security for him when he pops over to do whatever stuff he pops over to do anyway; and his law suits to get this perk are costing the tax payer.

Don’t be hypocritical, you are rather invested yourself considering your posting history on these threads.

We've now coughed up for an unprecedented blue light cavalcade for a pop princess and it's therefore reasonable to wonder which warbler du jour might now expect to be next in line to hoover up scarce resources.

What would the risk of cancelling have been?

It wasn't just the mayor stuffing free tickets into his back pocket it was several government ministers including the PM himself who apparently used his 'best individual judgement' in accepting them yet has now intriguingly repaid the costs.

If The Sun was angling for a hit piece they caught bigger fish than the hapless Mayor.

Can't see him.
Is he the one in the striped Tee-shirt and bobble hat?

Jeez, it's tragic how overinvested people are in some rich dude who left the UK four years ago.

More tragic that said rich dude is still ripping off millions from the UK public.

Since it's quite clear the increase in security was directly related to the significant increase in terror threat level caused by the Vienna plot being discovered the week before, the fact a handful of politicians, sportspeople, actors and other assorted VIPs were given tickets (as they are at every other big event) is a blatantly manufactured issue.

It's good to end the day on a laugh and the words 'warbler du jour' have provided just that.

Taylor Swift's tours are major economic boosts to the cities and countries that she visits in her tours. The price of the security is recouped by the financial benefits of her tour.

https://news.northeastern.edu/2023/08/11/taylor-swift-economy-impact/

Harry, on the other hand, is a financial drain. Providing him with security doesn't provide anyone with a financial boost.

I'm still annoyed that I, as a NYC tax payer, provided him with police so that he could visit a tattoo parlor.

I doubt very much that Taylor Swift would have received personal police protection had there not been a credible terrorism threat to her concerts only days before.

And its not completely clear what was provided - the sort of crowd control (as happens for many major events, and for which the organisers have to defray at least some costs) or some assistance to her convoy, or actual close protection

I really don't understand why anyone is questioning the additional security provided for Taylor. Not only after the credible terrorist threats to her gigs in Europe but also the Arianna Grande concert in Manchester. It really has nothing at all to do with politicians having tickets.
This is our right wing press seizing on anything they can to undermine the new government.

Whereas Harry? I don't think anyone ( even terrorists) have any interest in his movements.

who ?

This

He’s just desperately trying to copy his father and the way he affectionately calls Camilla his ‘darling wife’ and his sons ‘darling boy’

But he uses ‘lovely’ which isn’t the same and sounds stupid

I just have a memory (that I can't pin down) of a carchphrase - " and his laaarvley wife" - said with a Cockney drawl.

I was at the Eras tour at Wembley on the first night after the cancelled Vienna concerts. If you want to take umbridge then at least do it properly. It wasn’t just the blue light escorted. It was the hundreds of extra marshals, sniffer dogs, extra police in the crowds etc. There was a massive sense of uncertainty going in. The crowd was 90,000 and would have made an ideal target. The guy in Vienna had planned to detonate an acid bomb in the crowd going in to the concert. I think the Met did the right thing in the face of a real threat.

All those who think is was extravagance can bog off.

Swift would have paid for the Met presence at the actual venue though. Like the football clubs do, as I said previously. The outriders for Taylor herself was what was provided for free

Don't forget as well as the Vienna attack, she was returning to London after the Southport murders. Whilst, we don't know what motivated that heinous crime, it did take place at a Taylor themed holiday activity and there was speculation* that could have been a deliberate decision (incels etc). Those murders then led to horrific levels of minsinformation and subsequently the riots. I'm not surprised that there was additional security for her tbh

*I know it was only speculation but I would imagine that it led to heightened anxiety - I know as well that RAVEC etc will have been doing their jobs in assessing threats but given the national and international backdrops that a better safe than sorry decision was made.

@smilesy Would you rather that someone who had received credible, current threats went unprotected? They cancelled all the concerts in Vienna, which suggests that they couldn’t be sure it was just one guy.

I forget that lots of people weren’t following it carefully at the time like I was, so I’ll give posters the benefit of the doubt. Do you genuinely think it was a waste of money to give the extra police protection required for the concerts to go ahead?

I can tell you that we were all, Taylor included by the look on her face for the first set, extremely nervous that Vienna was part of a bigger plan and that something would go down. Outriders for her we’re part of the security plan.

No. I’m just pointing out that the extra protection for the concert was paid for, probably by Taylor herself or by the venue. As has already been said, you cannot actually pay for their services of the Met Special Protection branch. The issue is that earlier, posters were linking this to Harry wanting his security provided the same as Taylor did. But in fact, she only had security from Special Protection because it was deemed necessary and the same would be done for Harry if it was deemed necessary. But he would not be able to buy it because he personally felt it was necessary

eta in my previous post, I don’t say security wasn’t necessary, I just said that it wasn’t free for the venue. Not sure why you thought I’d said anything else 🤷‍♀️
And to add that the outriders would therefore necessarily be separate to the other security

Exactly. I was at the 2nd night at Murrayfield. It was such an amazing, fantastic, healthy atmosphere amongst the crowd. Just a shared experience. To have that tainted by uncertainty and fear must have been awful.

And as for the twats at "the Met" leaking that they weren't happy doing their fecking jobs and keeping the public and visitors safe (& that's exactly what the blue light escort back to Taylor's hotel was doing, having her a sitting target stuck in traffic would have seriously endangered the public nearby) - they can bog right off.

Doesn't look like the tickets shambles is going away:

deadline.com/2024/10/taylor-swift-london-police-escort-urged-govt-intervention-after-mother-threat-to-cancel-report-1236114508/

Well that article is an absolute shambles of inaccurate information.

Close personal protection is not solely given to cabinet members or the RF. It's given to anyone deemed in need of it, as assessed by RAVEC. Any journalist worth the title should know this. Salman Rushdie, likely Holly Willoughby have been given it. And as Harry's court case showed - the Monarch can request it for family members, but it still can be refused.

That article is an utter pile of pish. Shameful. RW press trying to create a scandal.