These are worrying times (The coronation arrests are just the start. Police can do what they want to us now, 12 May). When I policed protest, across 30 years of service (1986-2016), in a variety of roles that included holding a riot shield myself, the police were simply there to protect life and property. We were the visible safety barrier between the protesters and those they were protesting against. We allowed them both to be heard.
Paul Phillips
Retired chief superintendent
• Andy Beckett (Is there a future for protest in Britain? Standing in the muted republican crowd, my fears only grew, theguardian.com, 11 May) mentions the past suppression of protest by the practice of “kettling” – corralling protesters in a confined space for hours. As a human rights solicitor in 2005, I challenged this practice by means of a judicial review. I instructed Keir Starmer QC (as he then was) to appear for our clients. We lost the case. The judge who decided the case was Mr Justice Tugendhat, father of the MP Tom Tugendhat, who is now security minister.
