Police made tough calls on Coronation arrests, says ministeron May 7, 2023 at 1:24 pm

The police had to make “tough choices” while handling protests during the Coronation, a minister has said, following criticism over arrests.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg the police were right to factor in the scale and global-nature of the event.

MPs and human rights groups have criticised the police after 52 people were arrested in London on Saturday.

The Metropolitan Police said it acted in a “proportionate manner”.

Among those held was the head of the anti-monarchy group Republic, Graham Smith. He was released on Saturday evening after 16 hours in custody and said there was “no longer a right to peaceful protest in the UK”.

Other concerns have been raised over reports three volunteers with a Westminster-based women’s safety programme had been arrested while handing out rape alarms.

The Met said it received intelligence protesters were planning to use rape alarms to disrupt coronation proceedings.

Ms Frazer said the right to protest was “really important” and people should be heard but there had been a recent change in protesters’ tactics.

Protesters have been stopping people going about their day-to-day lives, she said, and there was a need to redress that balance. “People have the right to live their day-to-day life,” she added.

Officers would have made operational decisions on a case-by-case basis, she said, taking into account the scale of the Coronation celebrations.

“We were on the global stage, there were 200 foreign dignitaries in the UK, in London at an event, millions of people watching and hundreds of thousands of people at the scene,” she added.

Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC he was reassured the Met were aware of a gap in public confidence over policing and the force was “explaining and justifying” why they made some of the arrests.

He said Labour would “wait and see” whether the force got the balance right, adding “accountability” over policing decisions was important.

Mr Streeting said if they did not get it right, it was important to “hold your hands up”.

Commander Karen Findlay defended her officers’ response, saying they had a duty to intervene “when protest becomes criminal and may cause serious disruption”.

She added the Coronation was a “once-in-a-generation event” which was a key consideration in their assessment.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in the rain in central London on Saturday, 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.

Scotland Yard said those arrested had been held on suspicion of affray, public order offences, breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance around the Coronation.

While campaigners insisted their protests were peaceful, the police said they had intelligence that groups were “determined to disrupt” the occasion.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Ed Davey said he was not sure about the exact circumstances of the arrest, and called for more detail from the police.

Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuennsberg, he criticised the government for “passing legislation to clamp down on protest that breached British traditions of civil liberties”. The Conservative Party has “a lot to answer for”, he added.

Several Labour MPs have also been critical of the Met’s response. Senior backbencher Sir Chris Bryant said on Twitter that “freedom of speech is the silver thread that runs through a parliamentary constitutional monarchy”.

Shadow minister Jess Philips also used social media to say “our nation and our King is not so fragile as to not be able to take harmless protest of a different view”.

Writing on Twitter on Saturday evening, Mr Smith from Republic said he had been released but others from the group were still being held.

“I have been told many times the monarch is there to defend our freedoms. Now our freedoms are under attack in his name,” he wrote.

Mr Smith was arrested early on Saturday – before the Coronation began – at a protest in Trafalgar Square.

Footage during the day showed several protesters wearing “Not My King” T-shirts being detained, including Mr Smith.

Republic also said hundreds of placards were seized by police.

The Met said it had confiscated “lock-on devices” which protesters can use to secure themselves to things like railings.

It has now become illegal to prepare to lock-on following changes to the law passed this week.

But Matt Turnbull, another member of Republic who was arrested, said the straps were being used to hold the placards and had been “misconstrued” as lock-on devices.

Concerns about the police’s approach to the Coronation were also raised by Westminster City Council’s cabinet member for communities and public protection over reports that volunteers with its Night Star women’s safety programme had been detained and questioned after being stopped by officers while handing out rape alarms.

Councillor Aicha Less said the authority was working with the Met to establish what happened and was in touch with volunteers to make sure they were being supported.

The Met said it had received intelligence about plans to use rape alarms to disrupt the Coronation procession by scaring military horses, causing “significant risk to the safety of the public and the riders”.

The force said three people were arrested in the Soho area of London over suspicion of conspiracy to commit public nuisance.

One man was also further arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods. All three have since been released.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said the force were “aware of and understand there is public concern over these arrests” and added the matter was still under investigation.

Elsewhere on Saturday, climate activist group Just Stop Oil said about 13 protesters were arrested on The Mall in central London, and another five in Downing Street.