The head of anti-monarchist campaign group Republic was arrested by police at a protest in Trafalgar Square before the Coronation of King Charles.
Footage showed protesters in “Not My King” t-shirts being detained, including Republic’s CEO Graham Smith.
Six demonstrators, including Mr Smith, were stopped while unloading signs near the procession route, Republic said.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed several arrests were made at demonstrations in the capital.
Campaign groups and human rights groups criticised the “incredibly alarming” detentions, describing them as “something you would expect to see in Moscow, not London”.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in the rain in central London, with chants including “down with the Crown”, “don’t talk to the police” and “get a real job”.
Other protests were organised in Cardiff, Glasgow and Edinburgh. No arrests were reported outside London.
Republic posted photos on Twitter of police officers taking details from those who were arrested.
“So much for the right to peaceful protest,” the group said, adding the force would not give the reasons for their arrest.
New legislation passed this week made it illegal to prepare to lock-on to things like street furniture.
Matt Turnbull, one of those detained, said the straps holding the placards had been “misconstrued” as something that could be used for locking on.
“To be honest we were never going to be allowed to be a visible force here – they knew we were coming, and they were going to find a way to stop this,” he told the BBC.
The BBC later saw Mr Turnbull being led away in handcuffs.
The Metropolitan Police has not confirmed the number of people detained, but did say a number of arrests had been made near the Coronation parade route:
- Several people were detained on suspicion of breaching the peace on Carlton House Terrace, near St James’ Park
- Four were held on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance in the area of St Martin’s Lane, by Trafalgar Square, with lock-on devices seized
- Three more were held on suspicion of possessing articles to cause criminal damage near Wellington Arch.
On Wednesday, the force said they would have an “extremely low threshold” for protests during coronation celebrations, adding that demonstrators should expect “swift action”.
“The reports of people being arrested for peacefully protesting the coronation are incredibly alarming”, said Human Rights Watch UK director Yasmine Ahmed.
On Friday, Mr Smith said he had been speaking with the Met to organise the protest since January. He was not concerned he would be arrested, he said, as the new laws would not apply to their plans.
He told BBC Radio Leeds that Republic “certainly have no intention of actually disrupting” the proceedings.
“We will be very visible, we will be loud, we will be hard to miss, but the procession and the plans for the coronation will go ahead uninterrupted by us.”
Republic said on Saturday morning that hundreds of their placards had been seized and questioned: “Is this democracy?”
The anti-monarchy protest was organised near Trafalgar Square in central London, with crowds wearing yellow bursting into chants of “Not my King” and “Free Graham Smith”.
Thousands of people gathered to watch the Coronation procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey ahead of the ceremony.
During the Coronation ceremony, which was being broadcast in Trafalgar Square over loud speakers, hundreds of protesters booed the declarations of “God Save the King”.
Around 300 people gathered for a protest organised by Republic Cymru in Cardiff City Centre.
In Scotland, supporters of Scottish independence chanted anti-monarchy slogans on a march in Glasgow city centre, while a separate rally was held by the group Our Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state.
Around 13 Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested on the Mall in London, with a large group from the climate change campaign group seen in handcuffs.
Just Stop Oil has said five demonstrators were also arrested at Downing Street.
A spokeswoman for the group said their plan was “only to display T-shirts and flags”, adding: “This is a dystopian nightmare.”
Fellow environmental protesters Animal Rising said a number of their supporters were arrested at a training session “miles away from the coronation”.
The organisation described the police’s actions as “nothing short of a totalitarian crackdown on free speech and all forms of dissent”.
Source – BBC News
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