Ed Sheeran tour promoter threatened with arrest at ticketing protest

Ed Sheeran's tour promoter was threatened with police action while protesting against bosses at a ticket resale website.

Ed's tour promoter Stuart Galbraith was among the protesters turned away from the London offices of ticket resale site Viagogo by security staff who reportedly threatened to call the police.

Stuart, two British politicians, and angry members of the public claiming to have been ripped off by the company were there to demand answers from Viagogo bosses over their business practices.

The singer's management have taken a stand against touts using ticket resale sites to charge fans inflated prices to attend the singer's gigs and canceled 10,000 tickets for his upcoming tour that had been put up for sale on unofficial sites.

One fan, Kerry West, told British broadcaster Sky News she had spent nearly $2,600 on four tickets to one of Ed's Wembley Stadium gigs next year (18) but had been left heartbroken when the tickets were voided and Viagogo bosses refused to offer a refund.

Stuart said Ed fans should not buy tickets from the website, as they would be left disappointed.

"We're advising people don't buy tickets on Viagogo; every single ticket that they sell is not valid for our shows," he told Sky. "We've also trawled our sales ledgers and we've cross referenced against known touts, identifying seven people who have bought tickets in bulk and we're in the process of canceling those. It is starting to work - we're starting to see tickets disappear off Viagogo as we cancel them."

In March (17) Ed's manager Stuart Camp gave evidence to a House of Commons select committee in Britain's Houses of Parliament about the problem of ticket touts using resale sites. Viagogo bosses declined to appear at the hearing.