Anti-monarchy campaigners arrested ahead of the King’s coronation are considering legal action against the Metropolitan Police after being told no charges will be brought against them
Republic chief executive Graham Smith also called on Monday for a “full inquiry” into who authorised the arrests during the “disgraceful episode”.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has backed the Met over the dozens of arrests of protesters amid concerns they were cracking down on dissent on Saturday at the behest of politicians.
The force made 64 arrests on coronation day, with 46 people bailed after being detained on suspicion of causing a public nuisance or breaching the peace.
But Mr Smith said the eight protesters from Republic detained in London have all been told no charges will be brought against them.
He told the PA news agency: “The speed with which they did this demonstrates they were very quickly aware they had made a very serious error of judgment and there will be action taken again.
“I’m obviously relieved they dropped it so quickly but very angry they even went down this road, robbing people of their liberty for absolutely no reason.
“There was no evidence of any ability or intent to commit any offence and they simply decided to arrest us and that is outrageous.”
We have just been told that the police will be taking no further action. This has been a disgraceful episode and we will be speaking to lawyers about taking legal action. I also expect a full inquiry into why they repeatedly lied to us and who authorised the arrests.
— Graham Smith 🇺🇦 🏳️🌈 (@GrahamSmith_) May 8, 2023
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Scotland Yard has been asked about the result of the Republic arrests.
