A leading republican is reportedly one of six anti-monarchy protesters arrested in London this morning ahead of King Charles III's Coronation. Footage circulating on social media appears to show officers targeting demonstrators with 'Not My King' T-shirts and placards.
Anti-monarchy group Republic says six of its members have been arrested near to Trafalgar Square today (May 6). The group says its chief executive, Graham Smith, is one of those to have been arrested.
It comes after the Metropolitan Police said it would have an 'extremely low threshold' for protest during the Coronation celebrations, in a statement issued on Wednesday. Footage on Twitter appears to show Mr Smith being apprehended by police on St Martin’s Lane, while images show demonstrators in yellow 'Not My King' T-shirts having their details taken by officers.
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In one video, an officer says: “I’m not going to get into a conversation about that - they are under arrest, end of.” The Met has warned demonstrators can expect 'swift action' this weekend.
Following the apparent arrests, Republic activist Luke Whiting, 26, told the PA news agency: “Six Republic members have been arrested including the CEO as the demonstration was starting at the edge of Trafalgar Square. It is unclear why, potentially it is because one of them was carrying a megaphone."
One woman in a Republic T-shirt who was arrested told PA: “We had a delivery of placards ready for the protest and then the tactical support unit questioned us as to how we we had got through the road closures.
“They questioned whether what we were doing was a delivery. They then said they found evidence of means of locking on, of items that could be used to lock on, and they arrested us.”
Officers carried her away from where she had been standing outside a Tesco store. Two men who appeared to have been part of the same demonstration were carried away by officers into a marked police van.
The policing operation is set to see 11,500 police officers on duty on Saturday. The Met's statement on Wednesday said: "Our tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low.
"We will deal robustly with anyone intent on undermining this celebration." The force has been approached for comment on the arrests.
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