A barrister who was stopped by police for holding up a 'blank piece of paper' outside Parliament amid a string of arrests of anti-monarchy protesters says he has become a republican in the past week. Paul Powlesland, who also describes himself as a climate activist, filmed his interaction with an officer who claimed that the sign “may offend” people if he wrote “not my King” on it.
He argues that people should be allowed to protest peacefully, and said that he had the right to make his views known in "very polite" terms as the King addressed parliament for the first time. Speaking to GMB on Tuesday morning, Mr Powlesland said he objected to someone "proclaiming himself King" and making him his "subject".
Mr Powlesland said he was threatened with arrest, writing on Twitter: “Just went to Parliament Square and held up a blank piece of paper. Officer came and asked for my details. He confirmed that if I wrote ‘Not My King’ on it, he would arrest me under the Public Order Act because someone might be offended.”
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The lawyer added: “A period of quiet mourning for the Queen is fine, but using that period to cement Charles' accession as King and cracking down on any dissent to the accession as disrespectful is outrageous.”
Explaining his actions to Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard, he said: "I think we need to draw a clear line between disrespect for mourning for the Queen, and the protesting of Charles' ascension. That is the clear divide.
"I wasn't outside Buckingham Palace, and I wouldn't have gone outside Buckingham Palace because that is where people are mourning. I was outside Parliament, the centre of our politics, where someone has proclaimed himself King and said that I am their Subject. I think at least I get a chance to make my opinion on that in very polite terms. That is the dividing line we need to make. We need to allow people to protest peacefully the political accession of a monarch."
Mr Powlesland said he had done it for "free speech reasons" adding: "I believe that most precious than the monarchy is the real beautiful web of freedoms and civil liberties that we have built up here over centuries, and we would be very wrong to begin to sacrifice those in this kind of moment. I wasn't a republican before last week, I intellectually thought the monarchy was a bit of weird idea. But practically, like most people in this country, I really loved the Queen and thought the idea of the Queen a reassuring presence.
"I am now a republican because of what I have seen over the past week. I think it is a really obvious attempt to use the memory and the respect for the Queen to very quickly bolster Prince Charles' credibility as the new monarch. I think there is something actually quite cynical about it. He is coming in and saying 'I am now your King' , and I think people should have the right to say I disagree, and I don't want you to be."
The Met’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said: “We’re aware of a video online showing an officer speaking with a member of the public outside the Palace of Westminster earlier today. The public absolutely have a right to protest and we have been making this clear to all officers involved in the extraordinary policing operation currently in place and we will continue to do so.
"However, the overwhelming majority of interactions between officers and the public at this time have been positive as people have come to the Capital to mourn the loss of Her Late Majesty the Queen.”
The campaign Republic called for an “open and free debate” on the future of the monarchy, saying many people objected to the accession of Charles III “without debate or consent”.
Spokesman Graham Smith added: “We are deeply concerned to see people being arrested for peaceful protest. The police, media and politicians all need to understand that the accession is a contentious event and people have the right to speak up and be heard.”
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