Protestors have been arrested in London today on their way to King Charle’s coronation. One eyewitness told MyLondon that at least six people had been arrested.
When it comes to protestors the Police can call on two specific Acts, both acts have been newly revised and are: The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Bill 2023 - both these laws have been used today by the Metropolitan Police.
In a tweet, the Metropolitan Police said: “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.”
READ MORE: King's Coronation live updates as anti-monarchy protesters arrested as procession viewing areas closed off due to crowds
The Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Act 2022 was brought in by previous Home Secretary Priti Patel. The Act was brought in to tackle protestor groups like Extinction Rebellion and Black Lives Matter for causing disruption. The Act was widely criticised both in Parliament, by advocacy groups, and by the public.
Section 78 which refers to the 'conspiracy to commit public nuisance,' is what has been used to arrest protestors today at the Coronation celebrations. Those arrested under this law can be sentenced up to 10 years in prison. The law says: “On conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, to a fine or to both.”
The law says that a person commits an offence if the person “does an act, or omits to do an act that they are required to do by any enactment or rule of law,” which results in creating a risk of “serious harm” to the public. Or if it obstructs the public in their enjoyment of a right that may be exercised or enjoyed by the public at large. The law defines “serious harm” as: “serious distress, serious annoyance, serious inconvenience or serious loss of amenity.” Simply put, if you create a nuisance or disruption in public that hinders others there can be consequences. The law has been criticised by many for impeding people’s freedom of speech and right to protest.
Whilst the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is a concern for many, the newly introduced Public Order Bill 2023 which came into play from May 3 2023 goes a step further targeting protestors. The Gov.uk website states: “This government fully supports the right of individuals to engage in peaceful protest; however, the serious disruption caused by a small minority of protestors has highlighted that more needs to be done to protect the public and businesses from these unacceptable actions.” The order carries a sentencing of anywhere from 6 months to 5 years for violent disorder and an unlimited fine.
The bill criminalises ‘locking on’ and ‘going equipped’ to lock on, which could mean carrying a bike lock or even locking arms during a protest. The Public Order Bill has allowed for an extension of stop and search powers for the Police creating both suspicion-led searches as well as suspicion-less searches, it’d created new Serious Disruption Prevention Orders and the ability to restrict individual movement.
During the coronation celebrations, a van with ‘Not My King’ signs were also seized and hundreds of signs were recovered by the Metropolitan Police. A protestor Luke Whiting, 26, who spoke to a MyLondon reporter said: "We are pretty surprised and shocked. The police knew what we were doing today, simply holding placards and a demonstration. But they arrested six of our members, I'm hearing under the new public order bill. That's a massive overreaction and a massive overstep of their powers by police. This is the latest sinister development from that."
For Royal Family news, insider gossip and exclusive pics, sign up to MyLondon's The Royals newsletter HERE
READ NEXT:
- King's Coronation procession route, timings and best places to watch parade
- King's Coronation concert full lineup, timings, how to watch it free and ticket details
- King's Coronation events, timings and locations of three day programme for bank holiday
The celebrities attending the King's Coronation and their relation to the Royal Family
View gallery
Story Saved
You can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.
