POLICE have confiscated signs and banners reading “Not My King” ahead of the coronation as new protest laws come into force in England.
Photos show officers in central London taking away materials expressing disagreement with the monarchy.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed four people were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.
The force also said they made a number of breaching-the-peace arrests in the area of Carlton House Terrace and a further three arrests in the Wellington Arch area on suspicion of possessing articles to cause criminal damage.
Metropolitan police are silencing protesters before they even begin. Several members of anti-monaechist groups have been arrested. If this doesn't scare you it should! The right to peacefully protest or to even peacefully (disagree) in public has been removed. #NotMyKing pic.twitter.com/fB0AHt3gRC
— Sarah Hitchcock 👇 (@hitchhulme) May 6, 2023
Republic's Graham Smith arrested
Chief executive of anti-monarchy group Republic, Graham Smith, was among those apprehended in St Martin’s Lane near Trafalgar Square.
Campaign group Human Rights Watch described the arrests as “incredibly alarming”, adding: “This is something you would expect to see in Moscow not London.”
On Wednesday the Metropolitan Police said they would have an “extremely low threshold” for protests during the coronation celebrations, and that demonstrators could expect “swift action”.
New police powers
Under the controversial new Public Order Act, protesters who have an object with the intention of using it to “lock on” are liable to a fine, with those who block roads facing 12 months in prison.
An official letter warning of the new powers was sent to Republic, which said its campaign around the coronation would proceed as planned.
After the apparent arrests, Republic activist Luke Whiting, 26, said: “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.
“It is unclear exactly whether the police are using these new powers and whether they are misusing them to stop protest happening.”
