By Ben Kerrigan-
The Met Police have arrested protesters in central London ahead of the King’s Coronation.
A significant police operation is under way in central London,” the force said on Twitter.
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The leader of anti-monarchy group Republic was arrested and the force also confirmed it had detained multiple people in the City of Westminster.
Graham Smith, the chief executive of Republic, had been collecting drinks and placards for demonstrators at the main site of the protest on Trafalgar Square when he was stopped with five others by police on St Martin’s Lane in central London.
The group had been walking behind a rental van containing hundreds of placards when they were approached by the police and searched
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They are held on suspicion of breaching the peace, conspiracy to cause public nuisance and possessing articles to cause criminal damage, the force said.
Republic said hundreds of their placards had also been seized.
Harry Stratton, a director at Republic, who arrived as Smith and the others were detained, said: “They were collecting the placards and bringing them over when the police stopped them. The guys asked why and they were told: ‘We will tell you that once we have searched the vehicle.’ That’s when they arrested the six organisers.
“We asked on what grounds they had been arrested but they wouldn’t say. It is a surprise as we had had a number of meetings with the police. They had been making all the right noises.”
Scotland Yard later said “several” arrests had been made for breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause public disorder, adding that lock-on devices used by protesters to attach themselves to street furniture had been found. The allegation was denied by Republic.
A Met spokesperson said: “A significant police operation is under way in central London. We have made a number of arrests in the area of Carlton House Terrace. The individuals have been held on suspicion of breaching the peace. Earlier today we arrested four people in the area of St Martin’s Lane. They were held on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance. We seized lock-on devices.
“A further three people were arrested in the area of Wellington Arch. They were held on suspicion of possessing articles to cause criminal damage. There will be further updates later today.”
The Met police had tweeted earlier this week that they would have an “extremely low tolerance” of those seeking to “undermine” the day. Under the new Public Order Act, protesters who have an object with the intention of using it to “lock on” are liable to a fine, with those who block roads facing up to 12 months in prison.
Yasmine Ahmed, the UK director of Human Rights Watch, condemned the arrests. “The reports of people being arrested for peacefully protesting the coronation are incredibly alarming. This is something you would expect to see in Moscow not London. Peaceful protests allow individuals to hold those in power to account, something the UK government seems increasingly averse to.”
Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s chief executive, said the human rights group had been concerned about Met statements about its “low tolerance” of protests. He said: “We need to see what details emerge around these incidents but merely being in possession of a megaphone or carrying placards should never be grounds for a police arrest.
“Peaceful protest is clearly protected under international human rights law and it’s been worrying to see the police this week making numerous statements about their ‘low tolerance’ for disruption at the coronation. The coronation shouldn’t become yet another excuse for undermining people’s basic human rights in this country and we’re awaiting more details over these concerning reports of arrests.”
Protests are generally protected by free speech protected by the Human Rights Act, but none of the rights is absolute, and depend on other rights.
Protesters from climate protest group Just Stop Oil are apprehended by police officers in the crowd
The Met confirmed that four people were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance on St Martin’s Lane and that lock-on devices were seized.
The force also said they made a number of breaching-the-peace arrests in the area of Carlton House Terrace and a further three arrests in the Wellington Arch area on suspicion of possessing articles to cause criminal damage.
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Matt Turnbull, one of those arrested from Republic, said the straps holding the placards had been “misconstrued” as something that could be used for locking on.
New legislation passed this week means it is illegal to prepare to lock-on to things like street furniture.
Just Stop Oil said that a protester had been arrested in Piccadilly on their way to the Mall.
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