Republican protesters wearing ‘Not My King’ t-shirts arrested ahead of King’s coronation

Members of the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic have been arrested ahead of the King’s coronation.

The group said its chief executive Graham Smith had been arrested along with five of his team on Saturday morning (6 May).

It tweeted: “This morning, @GrahamSmith_ and 5 members of our team were arrested. Hundreds of placards were seized. Is this democracy? #NotMyKing #Coronation”

It comes after pictures and video footage posted on Twitter appeared to show demonstrators wearing yellow “Not My King” T-shirts having their details taken by police officers, with Mr Smith seen apparently being apprehended by police in St Martin’s Lane, Westminster.

In one video, an officer says: “I’m not going to get into a conversation about that – they are under arrest, end of.”

Just Stop Oil protesters also appear to have been been arrested on the Mall as a large group of campaigners were seen in handcuffs, and police cordoned the group off.

It comes after the Metropolitan Police announced earlier this week that the force would have an “extremely low threshold” for protests during the coronation celebrations, and that demonstrators could expect “swift action”.

After the 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. It is unclear exactly whether the police are using these new powers and whether they are misusing them to stop protest happening.”

Another woman wearing a Republic T-shirt was arrested and carried away by officers from where she had been standing outside a Tesco store. She 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.”

Two men who appeared to have been part of the same demonstration were also carried away by officers into a marked police van.

Commenting on the arrests, Scotland Yard confirmed that several people have been arrested on suspicion of offences including breaching the peace and conspiracy to cause public nuisance close to the coronation.

In a statement on Twitter, the force said: “A significant police operation is under way in central London. We have made a number of arrests in the area of Carlton House Terrace. The individuals have been held on suspicion of breaching the peace.

“Earlier today we arrested four people in the area of St Martin’s Lane. They were held on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance. We seized lock-on devices. A further three people were arrested in the area of Wellington Arch.

“They were held on suspicion of possessing articles to cause criminal damage. There will be further updates later today.”

Anti-monarchy protests are expected to take place across the UK during the coronation by Republic. The group’s website says there will be a procession from Buckingham Palace, up the Mall, through Trafalgar Square and down Whitehall to the Abbey. The group will stage a single primary protest on Trafalgar Square, plus several small groups along the route.

A “Not My King” protest will take place in Cardiff, with organisers Cymru Republic asking people to gather by the statue of Aneurin Bevan in Queen Street from 12.30pm. They will march through the streets before heading to Bute Park stone circle for a Big Republican Lunch.

Mr Smith said activists will chant “Not my King” and wear yellow T-shirts and carry yellow placards in groups along the procession route and in Trafalgar Square, and vowed to make the peaceful demonstration unmissable and loud.

He told The Times the group would not be staging any Extinction Rebellion-style demos because “it’s not a good look” and “doesn’t help the cause”, adding that more than 1,350 people had pledged to take part.

Mr Smith has branded the crowning of Charles and the Queen Consort a “pointless piece of theatre” which will cost tens of millions of pounds and be a “slap in the face” for people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. He said: “Anti-monarchy protests will carry one simple message: Do you want Charles or do you want a choice?”

The campaigners have written to every police force in the UK including the Metropolitan Police asking for reassurances they will not interfere in “peaceful and meaningful” protests against the monarchy.

The group is asking people to sign a pledge to protest and to add their voices to their call for the UK to become a republic and have an elected head of state. Its website states: “On Saturday 6th May the eyes of the world will be on the coronation. This is the moment we make our objection loud, visible and impossible to ignore.”