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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Sonia Sodha

The police are curbing free speech, and it’s not just at the behest of the right

Police officers remove a protester during Saturday’s coronation proceedings
Police officers remove a protester during Saturday’s coronation proceedings. Photograph: Loïc Venance/AFP/Getty Images

For many, the coronation will have passed by in a blur of pomp, quiches, bunting, fireworks... and rain. But for the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, things took an altogether more sinister turn.

Its chief executive and several other protesters were bundled into a police van yesterday after being arrested at a peaceful protest in Trafalgar Square. It followed a letter from the Home Office last week that informed them of new police powers to curb protest and harsher criminal penalties for protesters. “I would be grateful if you could forward this letter to members likely to be affected,” it ominously suggested.

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