Met Police 'regret' arresting anti-monarchy protesters who were never charged

ITV News' Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen explains the backlash the Met Police are receiving over its handling of protesters at the King's coronation

The Metropolitan Police has expressed “regret” that six anti-monarchy protesters from the campaign group Republic were arrested ahead of the King’s coronation.

No charges were brought against the demonstrators, and this evening they were informed their bail had been cancelled and no further action would be taken.

The force admitted that it could find no evidence to prove that the items seized by officers would be used to disrupt the event.

Protesters explained at the time that the luggage straps were being used to secure their placards and insisted they couldn't be used for a person to "lock on" to a fence or railing.

Among those arrested on Saturday, May 6, was Republic's chief executive Graham Smith, who today called for a “full inquiry” into who authorised the arrests during the “disgraceful episode”.

He said the speed at which the Met dropped its case against the group "demonstrates they were very quickly aware they had made a very serious error of judgment and there will be action taken again".

“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," he said.

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

The force made 64 arrests on coronation day, 52 of which related to concerns people were going to disrupt the event.

In a statement released this evening, the Met said the arrests included to prevent a breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.

As part of the wider policing operation eight arrests were made for other offences, including possession of an offensive weapon, drugs offences, and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

The force said it received information that protesters were "determined to disrupt the coronation procession" and that it set out to stop these people only, adding: "Any suggestion all protest was prohibited is not correct."

So far four charges have been brought following the 64 arrests made on Saturday, but the Met said some investigations are complex and take more time.

Explaining the arrest of the six Republic members, the Met said officers saw a group of people unloading items from a vehicle in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, at around 6.40am that morning.

"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.

"They searched the vehicle and, as well as a large number of placards, found items which at the time they had reasonable grounds to believe could be used as lock on devices."

The six people were arrested under Section 2 of the Public Order Act 2023, under the suspicion they were planning to lock onto something to disrupt the procession. One man was also arrested for possession of a knife/pointed article.

However, those arrested insisted they only wanted to use their items to secure their placards, and the police's investigation was unable to prove they intended to disrupt the event.

"This evening all six have had their bail cancelled and no further action will be taken," the force added.

"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."

This evening Mr Smith tweeted: "We have just been told that the police will be taking no further action.

"This has been a disgraceful episode and we will be speaking to lawyers about taking legal action.

"I also expect a full inquiry into why they repeatedly lied to us and who authorised the arrests."

Responding to the Met's statement, he disputed several parts of the force's account, including that officers were unaware that a member of the group had been speaking with a protest liaisons officer.

He wrote: "This evening three Met police officers visited my home to hand back my phone and the luggage straps.

"They apologised while wearing a body cam. I made it clear the apology is not accepted as we will be taking further action."

Although the Met Police mention six protesters in their statement, Mr Smith said there were eight people in the group in total, adding: "We are urgently seeking clarification regarding the other two who were equally innocent."

The Met has faced a great deal of backlash over its policing of Saturday's event, including over reports that women's safety campaigners carrying rape alarms were arrested.

However, prime minister Rishi Sunak defended the force's actions, telling broadcasters in Hertfordshire: "They’ll make these decisions based on what they think is best.

"Actually I’m grateful to the police and everyone who played a part in ensuring that this weekend has gone so well, so successfully and so safely, that was an extraordinary effort by so many people and I’m grateful to them for all their hard work."

Mr Smith raised fresh concerns about the Public Order Act signed into law last week, which tips the balance against protest, including by lowering the definition of "serious disruption". Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer had defended the Met as having got the "balance right" and said arrests were necessary during the "international event on the world stage".

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