The leader of the anti-monarchy group Republic has spoken out after being arrested in London on Saturday morning.
Graham Smith, who was one of 64 people arrested, has stated that the Metropolitan Police had “every intention” of arresting him before the event. He went on to say he’d been in close conversation with the Police for four months.
Commander Karen Findlay, who led the Met’s policing operation during the Coronation, said on Saturday: “Earlier this week we said our tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low and that we would deal robustly with anyone intent on undermining the celebration.”
Earlier on Saturday morning two women, aged 27 and 59, and a man, 47, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance. Among the items seized were a number of rape alarms, a Police spokesperson said.
The Met said it “received intelligence” that people “were planning to use rape alarms to disrupt the coronation procession”.
Aicha Less, cabinet member for communities and public protection at Westminster City Council, said: “We are deeply concerned by reports of our Night Stars volunteers being arrested overnight. We are working with the Metropolitan Police 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. This service has been a familiar and welcome sight in the West End for a long time and they have extensive training so they can assist the most vulnerable on the streets late at night.”
Night Stars is a part of the central London council’s night safety campaign.
Rishi Sunak backed the Police, saying they act independently from the government and did what they thought best.
The Homeland Party believes in freedom of speech and the right to protest and applauds the efforts of groups like Night Stars. However, we are alarmed by the fact that the moral standards in London – a hub for tolerance and diversity, according to mayor Sadiq Khan – have fallen so low that a charity needs to hand out rape alarms at 2am.
We also note that the Police can pre-emptively move along demonstrators and protesters when they want to, yet seem helpless when Extinction Rebellion or such like pull off pre-planned stunts.
Homeland would see to it that there isn’t a “one rule for one, one rule for another” culture surrounding Police decision-making.
