Monarchist’s shock at being held 13 hours

Amonarchist who was arrested and detained for 13 hours after she stood near protesters on the day of the King’s coronation has said no innocent bystander should endure a “shocking” experience like hers.

Alice Chambers has now called on police to put new processes in place to prevent a repeat.

The 36-year-old arrived at The Mall in central London at about 7am hoping to catch a glimpse of the King.

But she unwittingly stood near Just Stop Oil protesters and was “grabbed” and handcuffed when officers descended on the group at about 9am.

In an interview with the BBC, the architect from Australia, who lives in London, said she was arrested for conspiracy to commit public nuisance.

She was questioned, searched, held in a cell and had her DNA, fingerprints and custody photo taken before the Metropolitan Police realised she was an innocent bystander and let her go.

She added: “I mean, it’s just been so shocking and very emotional because it’s not something you ever expect, to find yourself in a jail cell for an extended period of time.

“I think about all the things I could have done that day, all the parties I could have gone to but I chose to attend the coronation and I got to see none of it.”

She added: “You would think that this should never happen and clearly there’s processes that either need to be put in place, or that weren’t followed because no one should endure an extended period under arrest just because they’re an innocent bystander.”

She told Victoria Derbyshire she was waiting for the coronation to begin when police arrived and started handcuffing people.

“Unfortunately, I was one of the people they grabbed,” she said.

“I gave them my contact details. I showed them my ID and nothing seemed to be able to be said that made a difference really.”

Ms Chambers said she was hauled off The Mall, amid “yelling and booing” from crowds and bundled into a police van, and it took “four hours before we made it to a station”.

Officers later apologised when they realised she was an innocent bystander and “they tried to process me from then on as quickly as they could”.

A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: “The arresting officer was from Lincolnshire Police and the complaint has therefore been passed to the relevant force to investigate.

“The Met will assist by providing any relevant information they require.”

Ms Chambers said: “I feel at the moment there’s a bit of finger-pointing at each other, so they they’re not really dealing with my complaint at all.”

Chief Inspector Simon Outen, of Lincolnshire Police, said: “We have now received a complaint and we are reviewing the incident.”