Met Police regrets arresting protesters

Force apologises to anti-monarchy campaign leader and says six bailed will face no further action

THE Metropolitan Police has said it “regrets” the arrest of six anti-monarchy protesters ahead of the Coronation, as it confirmed that new powers under the Public Order Act were used.

Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarchist group Republic, and five others have been told they face no further action after being arrested on Saturday and bailed.

Mr Smith said a chief inspector and two other Metropolitan Police officers personally apologised to him at his home yesterday evening over what he called a “disgraceful episode”.

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, had earlier backed the Met over the dozens of arrests of protesters amid concerns they were cracking down on the right to demonstrate.

The Metropolitan Police issued a lengthy defence as it confirmed Mr Smith and five others have been told they face no further action. The force said it had arrested the group using new powers under the controversial Public Order Act after it was believed items found alongside a large number of placards could be used as “lock-on devices” to cause disruption.

“Those arrested stated the items would be used to secure their placards, and the investigation has been unable to prove intent to use them to lock on and disrupt the event,” last night’s statement said.

“This evening, all six have had their bail cancelled and no further action will be taken. 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.”

Mr Smith said the three officers apologised to him at his home in Reading, Berks, before handing back the phone straps they arrested him over.

He told the PA news agency: “They seemed rather embarrassed, to be honest.

“I said for the record I won’t accept the apology. We have a lot of questions to answer and we will be taking action,” he went on.

Mr Smith had earlier accused the Met of “repeatedly lying” about allowing the group to hold a peaceful demonstration, saying Republic had spent four months holding meetings with police to agree plans for a protest in Trafalgar Square.

Scotland Yard said 52 of the 64 arrests made during its Coronation operation on Saturday related to concerns individuals were going to disrupt the pageantry.

The force insisted its action was “targeted” at those believed to be “intent on taking this action”.

“Any suggestion all protest was prohibited is not correct,” it added.

The force acknowledged that at least one of the six people arrested while unloading placards from a vehicle in St Martin’s Lane had engaged with its protest liaison team, but said those officers were not present during the arrest.

“Taking into account the information that people were seeking to seriously disrupt the event, and the significance of the security operation, officers had been briefed to be extremely vigilant and proactive,” it said.

The Met’s handling of protesters on the day of the Coronation is likely to come in for further scrutiny by the London Assembly’s policing and crime committee.