UK Policing Minister Diana Johnson said Thursday that police are looking at “all the intelligence” in the lead-up to Taylor Swift’s upcoming dates at London’s Wembley Stadium later this month.
She was talking in the wake of the cancellation overnight of three dates in Swift’s The Eras Tour in Austria this week, after police arrested three men accused of plotting a terror attack on one of the concerts.
Swift has previously said that one of her biggest fears is a terrorist attack at one of her shows.
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The artist was due to perform at the Ernst Happel Stadium in the Austrian capital of Vienna for three nights from Thursday, before returning to the U.K for five performances at Wembley Stadium from August 15 to 20 inclusive.
Local Vienna concert organizer Barracuda Music announced shortly after news of the arrests that it had “no choice” but to cancel all three shows for everyone’s safety.
Johnson was quizzed about the implications of the events in Vienna for Swift’s London dates in an interview with radio network LBC.
“Clearly, the police will be looking at all the intelligence and making decisions, they risk assess every event that happens in this country, and that’s something for the police.”
There have been rumors that some U.K. ticket holders, particularly people due to attend with youngsters, have been seeking to cancel their tickets over security concerns.
Deadline has contacted Wembley Stadium and official ticket agent Ticketmaster for comment.
Johnson noted that the newly-elected Labour government was committed to passing proposed legislation requiring venues and local authorities to have preventative action plans against terror attacks in place.
Known as Martyn’s Law, the proposal was sparked by the attack on an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena in May 2017 that killed 22 people. It is named after one of the victims, Martyn Hett, whose mother Figen Murray has been at the forefront of pushing for the legislation.
“There is, of course, a commitment in our manifesto in the General Election to introduce Martyn’s law, which, again, is about making sure that those … venues which could be subject to terrorist attack have in place everything that they need in terms of keeping people safe, and that will be brought forward by the government shortly.”
In the backdrop, Swift’s return to the U.K. will be amid an already tense atmosphere in the wake of riots across the country following a far-right disinformation campaign around the fatal stabbing of three young girls attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance summer camp in the town of Southport on July 29.
False rumors that the 17-year-old arrested stabbing suspect, Axel Rudakubana, born in the Welsh capital of Cardiff, was an asylum-seeker sparked anti-immigrant riots in towns and cities across the country, whipped up by right-wing agitators.
Fears of fresh violence on Wednesday evening after right-wing groups called for attacks on immigration advice centres across the country, were overturned by a strong police presence in expected hotspots as well as rallies by thousand of anti-racism protesters.
In the immediate aftermath of the Southport attack, Swift posted on her Instagram account that she was in “shock” over what had happened.
Vienna update
In Vienna, police gave an update on their findings in a press conference on Thursday morning.
They said a main 19-year-old suspect had been arrested in the town of Ternitz, an hour’s drive from Vienna, and made a full confession.
In other details, they said the suspect had been radicalized and recently uploaded a pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State on the internet.
Functional explosive devices, other bomb-making material as well as knives and machetes were found in his apartment. His intention had been to kill himself in the attack, the police said.
Two suspected accomplices aged 15 and 17 have also been arrested. No other suspects are being sought at this point.
The Ernst Happel Stadium is Austria’s largest sports and entertainment venue.
Around 65,000 people had been due to attend each concert, with another 15,000 to 20,000 fans expected to gather outside the stadium.
Austrian police defended the decision to cancel the concerts, saying the foiled plot had represented a very real threat.
Barracuda Music has promised to refund all tickets acquired via an official provider within 10 days of the cancellation.