London (EFE) members of the anti-monarchist group Republic were arrested.
On Saturday morning, ahead of the ceremony, London’s Metropolitan Police (Met) arrested the Republicans under a controversial Public Order Act passed at the behest of the government three days earlier.
Committee chair Diana Johnson, Labour, said today there were “questions” about the application of the law and what guidelines were issued to officers ahead of the British monarch’s coronation at Westminster Abbey.
The committee session will take place on the 17th and several witnesses will be called to testify, although Johnson has not yet provided the names of the people called.
Concern over control of protests
The Labor MP acknowledged that the Met had had a “huge police operation” on its hands, which has been “very successful” in keeping people safe.
“But the reality is that the issue of how the protests were controlled is something that has raised concerns, particularly about the implementation of this new Act of Parliament, the Public Order Act 2023,” he added.
On Saturday, Republic leader Graham Smith was arrested along with five colleagues unloading yellow banners from a vehicle to protest the “NotMyKing” event.
The objective of the Public Order law is above all to prevent, for example, protesters from blocking roads or highways and impeding traffic.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has backed the new powers of the law, saying officers must have the ability to deal with “serious disturbances.”