- By Adam Durbin & Daniel Sandford
- BBC News
May 6, 2023 at 08:58 CET
Updated 15 minutes ago
video caption,
Watch: Anti-monarchy protester Matt Turnbull is arrested near Trafalgar Square
The leader of anti-monarchist campaign group Republic was arrested at a protest in Trafalgar Square ahead of the coronation.
Footage shows protesters in “Not My King” shirts being arrested, including Republic CEO Graham Smith.
Six protesters, including Mr Smith, were arrested by police as they unloaded placards near the coronation procession route, the group said.
Republic posted photos of officers taking details of them on Twitter.
“So much for the right to peaceful protest,” the group said, adding officers would not explain the reasons for their arrest and confirmed their CEO was with them.
Matt Turnbull, one of those arrested, said the straps holding the placards were “misconstrued” as something that could be used to connect them.
“To be honest we would never be a visible force here – they knew we were coming and they would find a way to stop it,” he told the BBC.
The BBC later saw Mr Turnbull being taken away in handcuffs.
picture description,
Graham Smith at a protest in March
New laws passed this week made it illegal to prepare things like street furniture.
The Metropolitan Police have not confirmed the exact number of people arrested but said a number of arrests had been made near the Coronation Parade route:
- Several people have been arrested on suspicion of disturbing the peace on Carlton House Terrace, near St James’ Park
- four were arrested on suspicion of conspiring to cause public disturbance in the St Martin’s Lane area of Trafalgar Square, with lock-on devices confiscated
- three others were held on suspicion of possession of items used to cause criminal damage near Wellington Arch.
On Wednesday, the force said they had an “extremely low threshold” for protests during the coronation celebrations, adding that protesters should expect “quick action”.
But on Friday, Mr Smith said he had spoken to the Met to organize the protest since January and was not concerned he would be arrested as the new laws would not apply to their plans.
He told BBC Radio Leeds that the Republic “certainly have no intention of actually disrupting proceedings”.
“We will be very visible, we will be loud, we will be hard to miss but the procession and the plans for the coronation will proceed undisturbed by us.”
The Republic said Saturday morning that hundreds of its posters had been confiscated and questioned: “Is that democracy?”
“Some ask why we are protesting. Because we want to use the coronation to change the debate about the monarchy and show that we are not a nation of royalists,” the campaign group wrote.
Image source, Getty Images
The anti-monarchy protest was organized near Trafalgar Square in central London, with crowds dressed in yellow erupting in chants of “Not my King” and “Free Graham Smith”.
Thousands of people gathered to watch the coronation procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey before the ceremony.
Hundreds of protesters booed declarations of “God save the King” during the coronation ceremony, which was broadcast over loudspeakers in Trafalgar Square.
Around 300 people gathered for a protest organized by Republic Cymru in Cardiff city centre.
In Scotland, supporters of Scottish independence chanted anti-monarchy slogans at a demonstration in Glasgow city center, while a separate rally is being held by the Our Republic group, which is campaigning for an elected head of state.
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Police officers arrest a man believed to be a member of the Just Stop Oil movement
About 13 Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested on The Mall in London, with a large group from the climate change campaign group seen in handcuffs.
Five protesters at Downing Street have also been arrested, according to Just Stop Oil.
A spokeswoman for the group said their plan was “to just show t-shirts and flags,” adding, “This is a dystopian nightmare.”
The nonprofit Human Rights Watch said the arrests were “something you would expect in Moscow, not London.”
“The reports of people being arrested for peacefully protesting the coronation are incredibly alarming,” UK director Yasmine Ahmed said in a statement.
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