'Fake stewards' armed with white paint at Coronation 'to throw at parade'

Met chief Sir Mark Rowley said officers intercepted 'fake stewards' armed with white paint as the force cracked down on a criminal network at the King's Coronation.

London's police commissioner said just hours before the historic event got underway he received worrying information about plans to disrupt the royal event.

Intelligence showed people were intent on using rape alarms and loud hailers as part of their protest which would have distressed military horses.

There were also plans to extensively vandalise monuments, throw paint at the procession and intercept the route, police said.

Mr Rowley added: "Military colleagues shared their worries about how some of this disruption would significantly unsettle their 160 strong mounted regiments, with the potential of causing multiple serious injuries and compromising public safety.

"The threat was so concerning that on Friday the Home Secretary and Mayor were given late night briefings as plans were being put in place.

"Clearly, this would not only have been unlawful, but also extremely dangerous. Officers worked around the clock to try to identify the full criminal network, establish the detail of their plans, and make arrests."

Sir Mark Rowley denied there was any ban on protests at the Coronation saying there were hundreds of protestors along the route, including a large group in Trafalgar Square.

He said police would share as much information as possible with the public to reassure Londoners about their tactics.

But Mr Rowley said he was "frustrated" there were things he was unable to talk about.

He added: "While our investigations continue, I can report that we found people in possession of possible lock-on devices and people that appeared to be purporting to be stewards of the event in possession of plastic bottles containing white paint which we believe were specifically to be used to criminally disrupt the procession and resulted in arrests for going equipped to commit criminal damage."

In total 64 people were arrested over the weekend, 52 over concerns that the coronation may be disrupted.

Home Office minister Chris Philp, responding to questions from MPs, told the Commons: “This intelligence picture included more than one plot to cause severe disruption by placing activated rape alarms in the path of horses to induce a stampede, and a separate plot to douse participants in the procession with paint.”Labour urged the Government to learn the lessons from the arrest of six anti-monarchy protesters.

Shadow Home Office minister Sarah Jones said: “These arrests raise questions that we want answers to: why the arresting officers didn’t know or take account that Republic had been working with the police or why they were held for 16 hours.”

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...