Wednesday, May 10, 2023

British police express 'regret' over 6 anti-monarchists arrested in coronation protests

it's easier to ask forgiveness than to get permission

Republic CEO Graham Smith, who is demanding an inquiry into how he and five colleagues were arrested, said the right to protest peacefully in Britain no longer existed, only a "freedom to protest that is contingent on political decisions made by ministers and senior police."
 File photo by Andy Rain/EPA-EFE

May 9 (UPI) -- London's Metropolitan Police have apologized to a group of anti-monarchists who were wrongfully arrested and detained on the morning of the coronation of King Charles III after being assured their protest was legal.

The six people, all from the group Republic including its CEO Graham Smith, have had their bail canceled and no further action will be taken following an internal investigation, the Met said in a news release.

"We regret that those six people arrested were unable to join the wider group of protesters in Trafalgar Square and elsewhere on the procession route.

"It was not clear at the time that at least one of the group stopped had been engaging with police Protest Liaison Team officers ahead of the event. The Protest Liaison Team were not the arresting officers nor were they present in St Martin's Lane at the time of the arrest."

The Met said the six were arrested on suspicion of going equipped for a new offense of "locking on" [shackling or gluing oneself to street furniture such as railings to avoid being removed] because they were in possession of straps when their vehicle was stopped.

Smith said police were informed that it was not "physically possible to 'lock on'" with luggage straps and that they were told that the straps were support braces to help demonstrators keep hefty placards aloft.

Smith said he had rejected a personal apology from a chief inspector and two other officers at his home in Reading on Monday evening, saying what had happened was a "disgraceful episode," that required a "full inquiry" into how the arrests were authorized.

"The speed with which they did this demonstrates they were very quickly aware they had made a very serious error of judgment and there will be action taken again," said Smith. "I'm obviously relieved they dropped it so quickly but very angry they even went down this road, robbing people of their liberty for absolutely no reason.

"There was no evidence of any ability or intent to commit any offense and they simply decided to arrest us and that is outrageous."

Smith, who said Republic was considering legal action against the Met, was among 64 people arrested Saturday during the coronation, 32 of whom were charged with conspiracy to cause a public nuisance and released on bail, while another 14 arrested for breach of peace have also been bailed.

Police said one person was charged with "a religiously aggravated offense," while two others were charged with possession of a class A drug.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak backed the new policing powers that were used to arrest protestors contained in the controversial Public Order Bill passed last week and was emphatic that police operated independently of government.

"Of course, people have the right to protest freely but peacefully, but it is also right that people have the ability to go about their day-to-day lives without facing serious disruption," said Sunak. 
THE POINT OF PROTEST IS TO DISRUPT















UK police under fire over coronation protester arrests

By JILL LAWLESS
AP
yesterday

Members of the anti-monarchist group Republic stage a protest along the route of the procession ahead of the coronation of King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, in London, Saturday, May 6, 2023.
 (Sebastien Bozon/Pool via AP)

LONDON (AP) — An anti-monarchy group says it plans to take legal action against London’s Metropolitan Police after several of its members were arrested as they prepared to protest the coronation of King Charles III.

Civil liberties groups are accusing the police, and Britain’s Conservative government, of stifling the right to protest with new powers to clamp down on peaceful but disruptive demonstrations.

The police force expressed “regret” late Monday that the activists were prevented from protesting, but defended its handling of the coronation, which drew hundreds of thousands of people into the streets of London — hundreds of protesters among them.

Police arrested 64 people around Saturday’s coronation, most for allegedly planning to disrupt the ceremonies. Four have been charged, while most were released on bail. Six members of anti-monarchist group Republic were let go and told they would not face any charges.

Republic chief executive Graham Smith said three senior police officers came to his house and apologized in person for the arrest that saw him held in custody for 16 hours.

“I said for the record I won’t accept the apology,” Smith said, adding that the group “will be taking action.”

The U.K.’s recently passed Public Order Act, introduced in response to civil disobedience by environmental groups, allows police to search demonstrators for items including locks and glue and imposes penalties of up to 12 months in prison for protesters who block roads or interfere with “national infrastructure.”

Police said the Republic members had items that could be used to “lock on” to infrastructure. Republic said the items were ties for their placards and police acknowledged its “investigation has been unable to prove intent to use them to lock on and disrupt the event.”

“We regret that those six people arrested were unable to join the wider group of protesters in Trafalgar Square and elsewhere on the procession route,” police said.

London police chief Mark Rowley defended his officers’ actions.

“Much of the ill-informed commentary on the day is wholly inaccurate. For example, protest was not banned,” Rowley wrote in the Evening Standard newspaper. “I want to be absolutely clear: our activity was targeted at those we believed were intent on causing serious disruption and criminality. Serious and reliable intelligence told us that the risks were very real.”


A royal supporter applauds as Police move in to crowd to detain 'Just Stop Oil' protestors before the King's Procession in London, Saturday, May 6, 2023. 
(Ian McIlgorm/Mail on Sunday via AP, Pool)

The Conservative government also defended the way police handled the protests.


“This was the context: a once-in-a-generation national moment, facing specific intelligence threats about multiple, well-organized plots to disrupt it,” Policing Minister Chris Philp said.

“We had specific intelligence that people planned to disrupt the coronation by creating a stampede of horses and covering the ceremonial procession in paint,” he said.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a member of the opposition Labour Party, requested “further clarity” from the force. He said the right to peaceful protest is an integral part of democracy.














Conservative lawmaker David Davis said the new powers of arrest were too broad.

“No one wants a day ruined, but the right to put up placards is virtually absolute in British democracy,” he told the BBC on Tuesday.


The Metropolitan Police force was already under intense pressure after a series of scandals involving its treatment of women and minorities. Confidence in the force plummeted after a serving officer raped and killed a young woman in London in 2020.

An independent review commissioned after the murder of marketing executive Sarah Everard said the force was riddled with racism, misogyny and homophobia. This year, another officer pleaded guilty to 48 rapes and dozens of other serious crimes committed over a 17-year period. ___


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