Police Arrest 64 People For Protesting During Coronation Of King Charles III2 min read

The police had to make “tough choices” while handling protests during the Coronation, a minister has said, following criticism over arrests.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg the police were right to factor in the scale and global-nature of the event.

MPs, human rights groups and a former chief constable have criticised the police’s tactics.

Police said on Sunday that 64 people were arrested during the Coronation.

The Metropolitan Police had previously said 52 arrests were made on Saturday. In its latest update, it said four people had been charged, while another person arrested remains in custody for non-payment of fines.

Fifty-seven people have been released on bail while two others will face no further police action.

Among those held on Saturday was the head of the anti-monarchy group Republic, Graham Smith. He was released after 16 hours in custody and said there was “no longer a right to peaceful protest in the UK”.

Other concerns have been raised over reports three volunteers with a Westminster-based women’s safety programme had been arrested while handing out rape alarms.

The Met said it received intelligence protesters were planning to use rape alarms to disrupt coronation proceedings.

Ms Frazer said the right to protest was “really important” and people should be heard but there had been a recent change in protesters’ tactics.

Protesters have been stopping people going about their day-to-day lives, she said, and there was a need to redress that balance.

Officers would have made operational decisions on a case-by-case basis, she said, taking into account the scale of the Coronation celebrations.

“We were on the global stage, there were 200 foreign dignitaries in the UK, in London at an event, millions of people watching and hundreds of thousands of people at the scene,” she added.

Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC he was reassured the Met were aware of a gap in public confidence over policing and the force was “explaining and justifying” why they made some of the arrests.

He said Labour would “wait and see” whether the force got the balance right, adding “accountability” over policing decisions was important.

Mr Streeting said if they did not get it right, it was important to “hold your hands up”.