Concerns after women's safety volunteers among those arrested at King's Coronation - as rape alarms seized
08.05.2023 - 16:19
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Concerns have been raised after women's safety volunteers were among those arrested at the King's Coronation this weekend, as rape alarms were seized.
The Metropolitan Police made 64 arrests on coronation day (Saturday 6 May), with 46 people bailed after being detained on suspicion of causing a public nuisance or breaching the peace.
Campaigners have condemned the arrests of protesters as a deliberate attempt to "disrupt" and "diminish" dissent. Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarchy Republic campaign group who was detained on Saturday, accused Scotland Yard of having 'every intention' of arresting demonstrators.
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It comes as Rishi Sunak backed the police force, insisting that officers act independently of government based on 'what they think is best' amid claims they were cracking down at the behest of politicians, the PA news agency reports.
But Westminster City Council has now also raised concerns after it emerged that volunteers from their women's safety campaign were arrested - and rape alarms seized.
In defence, the Metropolitan Police said it had received intelligence that people were planning to use the devices to disrupt the procession, but did not say how.
Caroline Russell said the London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee that she chairs will be questioning the Met over the "worrying" arrests.
The Green politician told Today: "It felt like for someone who was trying to protest, and trying to do it by the book, it was very difficult to understand what the rules were.
"It seems absolutely extraordinary that those people who were volunteering, they were out there handing out flip flops to people who could no longer walk in