Met ‘regret’ protest arrests made at coronation and cancel bail
The Met have said they regret the arrests of six anti-monarchy protesters at the coronation and will be taking no further action.
Met officers said they observed a group of people unloading items from a vehicle on St Martin’s Lane in Westminster, near the Coronation procession route, at around 6.30am on Saturday,
Officers searched the vehicle and, as well as a large number of placards, found items which they believed could be used as lock-on devices.
Six people were arrested on suspicion of being equipped for locking on, contrary to the Public Order Act 2023. One man was also arrested for possession of a pointed article.
Officers making the arrests claim they were unaware that at least one of the group had been engaging with police protest liaison team officers ahead of the event.
The Met claim the protest liaison team were not present in St Martin’s Lane at the time of the arrest.
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, all six had their bail cancelled and no further action will be taken against them.
A spokesman from the Met said: “ 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.”
“It was not our intention to prevent protest and whilst the vast masses of the crowd were there to celebrate and witness a once in a generation event, it is very clear a number of protests took place across the footprint both before, during and after the event with no police intervention.”
Elsewhere, at around 2am on the morning of the coronation, three people from Westminster City council’s Night Stars public safety team were arrested for handing out rape alarms in the Soho area.
The three people – a 37-year-old woman, a 59-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man – were taken to a South London police station.
All three have since been released on bail pending further enquiries.
The Met’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said: “The intelligence we received led us to be extremely worried about the potential risk to public safety. We are aware of and understand there is public concern over these arrests. However, the matter is still under investigation.”
Westminster City councillor Aicha Less said: “We are deeply concerned by reports of our Night Stars volunteers being arrested overnight.
“This service has been a familiar and welcome sight in the West End for a long time and the volunteers have extensive training so they can assist the most vulnerable on the streets late at night.
“We are working with the Met to establish exactly what happened, and in the meantime, we are in touch with our volunteers to ensure they are receiving the support they need.”
Pictured top: Protestors at King Charles’ coronation outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square (Picture: Matt Durant)
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