Coronation protests: MPs to consider inquiry over policing

MPs volition see aboriginal whether an enquiry is needed into however protests astatine the King's Coronation were policed.

A committee volition conscionable connected Wednesday to sermon the protests, including the arrests of six radical from anti-monarchy radical Republic.

Sir Mark Rowley, caput of the Met, has defended his officers and said determination was a "concerning" menace to the event.

But concerns person been raised astir the implementation of a caller instrumentality by frontline officers.

A radical of six anti-monarchy protesters, including the main enforcement of anti-monarchy radical Republic, Graham Smith, was arrested connected the time of King Charles III's coronation nether a arguable caller instrumentality - the Public Order Act 2023.

They were held for astir 16 hours, aboriginal bailed and told connected Monday that nary further enactment would beryllium taken against them.

Sir Mark said the Met had had increasing concerns that protesters would usage rape alarms, imaginable lock-on devices, large hailers and vandalise monuments during the procession.

"Clearly, this would not lone person been unlawful, but besides highly dangerous," helium wrote successful the Evening Standard newspaper connected Tuesday.

Labour's Diana Johnson, who chairs the cross-party Home Affairs Select Committee, volition telephone for an enquiry connected Wednesday to look astatine whether immoderate lessons could beryllium learned.

"That contented of however protests were policed is thing that has raised concerns, peculiarly astir the implementation of this precise caller enactment of parliament... which seems to beryllium astatine the halfway of wherefore members of Republic were arrested," she told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.

"We volition privation to see whether we privation to walk immoderate clip looking astatine those peculiar issues, recognising of people that this was a immense policing cognition implicit the play to support radical harmless and was precise successful."

She besides questioned whether frontline officers knew what had been agreed betwixt the Met Police and Republic pursuing months of negotiations astir the planned protest.

But erstwhile Met adjunct commissioner Helen King said nationalist information was "right up adjacent the top" of priorities for officers on the procession way connected Saturday, adding that hard decisions had to beryllium made by officers who "don't person the payment of hindsight".

"For the frontline officer, they've got a precise hard determination they person to marque quickly, usually with imperfect and partial information", she told the BBC.