A small hiccup during the coronation of Charles III. London police said Monday night they "regret" that six anti-monarchy protesters who had been arrested Saturday ahead of the celebrations had not been able to demonstrate as they had planned and stressed that no prosecution would be brought against them.
Early Saturday morning, six members of the anti-monarchy group Republic, including their leader Graham Smith, were arrested in central London on their way to Trafalagar Square to protest at the King's Passage. The police had also seized their signs.
See alsoCoronation of Charles III: the small and big challenges of the new king
They were released late Saturday, more than sixteen hours after their arrest, sparking strong criticism. In a statement Monday night, the London police justified themselves at length by explaining that they had arrested six people "suspected of being equipped to chain themselves".
Under a law that came into force on Wednesday, criticized all the way to the UN, British police can arrest people in possession of equipment that could be used to chain themselves on public roads, a protest and blocking technique regularly used by climate activists in the United Kingdom.
"We no longer have the right to protest in this country"
The London police, however, added in its statement that "the investigation could not prove the intention to use (the seized objects) to chain itself and disrupt the demonstration." "We regret that the six people arrested were unable to join the group of protesters in Trafalgar Square and elsewhere along the route of the procession," Scoland Yard concluded, stressing that no charges would be brought.
The arrest of Graham Smith and the other five members of Republic was sharply criticised by the hundreds of anti-monarchy protesters who had gathered to boo the carriage carrying Charles III to Westminster Abbey.
We have just been told that the police will be taking no further action. This has been a disgraceful episode and we will be speaking to lawyers about taking legal action. I also expect a full inquiry into why they repeatedly lied to us and who authorised the arrests.
— Graham Smith 🇺🇦 🏳️ 🌈 (@GrahamSmith_) May 8, 2023
"This is something you expect to see in Moscow, not London," Human Rights Watch said. Graham Smith said on Twitter that three police officers went to his home Monday night and apologized. "The excuse is not accepted," he said.
Earlier in the day, he had criticised the new law on public order, which he said was introduced "to give them the power to arrest us under any futile pretext". "We no longer have the right to demonstrate in this country, we only have a freedom to demonstrate with the permission of police and politicians," he told the BBC. In total, London police made 64 arrests on the day of the king's coronation, including environmental activists.
