It comes amid a spate of arrests and police crackdowns on republican protests across the UK, with one arrested protester calling the response an “outrageous attack on democracy”. At least two arrests were made at proclamation ceremonies on Sunday, while police were seen moving a woman holding a placard reading “not my king” near the parliament buildings on Monday morning. Asked about the incidents at a daily press conference, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “I will not be drawn into commenting on individual cases which are operational matters for the police. “More broadly, this is a time of national mourning for the vast majority of the country, but the fundamental right to protest remains a cornerstone of our democracy.” Police Scotland said a 22-year-old woman was arrested outside St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh on Sunday “in connection with a breach of the peace”. “She was charged and released with an obligation to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at a later date,” added a spokesman. The woman was holding a sign that read “f*** imperialism, abolish the monarchy”, but the sign was not understood to be the reason for her arrest. He was seen in the crowd moments before the official announcement of the new King in the Scottish capital and was led away by police. Some members of the crowd applauded and told the woman to “have some respect”, while others shouted “let her go, it’s free speech”. Other Republican protesters were heard booing during the event and chanting “democracy now”. In Oxford, a man was arrested under the Public Order Act for alleged behavior that caused “nuisance, alarm or distress”. Simon Hill, 45, told the Independent he shouted “who elected him?” when Charles III was formally proclaimed King. “I kept quiet on the first part of the proclamation, about Elizabeth’s death,” he added on his blog. “I doubt most of the crowd even heard me. Two or three people near me told me to shut up. I did not insult or attack them personally, but I responded by saying that a head of state is being imposed on us without our consent.” A protester before the Accession Ceremony at Mercat Cross, Edinburgh, publicly announcing King Charles III as the new monarch on 11 September 2022 (PA) Hill said he was initially “told to be quiet” by security guards before officers approached, arrested and handcuffed him. He heard some asking the police what they were doing and saying he was “entitled to his opinions”, but was led into a police van and told he might face charges. Mr Hill described the incident as an “outrageous attack on democracy” and that he did not believe anyone could have felt harassed or distressed by his actions, adding: “The police abused their powers to arrest someone who expressed some mild opposition to a head of state. is appointed undemocratically”. Journalist Alan White, who attended the announcement, tweeted that while some members of the crowd “told him to shut up, no one I saw called for the police to get involved.” The editor of Politics Home said that possible harassment or distress was “not borne out by what I saw”. Hill said officers initially told him he was arrested under the controversial new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which allowed police to ban one-person protests and those deemed too noisy. But a Thames Valley Police spokesman said he was arrested under section 5 of the Public Order Act, which contains an offense of using threatening or abusive words or behavior likely to cause “annoyance, alarm or distress” to passers-by . The statement said: “A 45-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a disturbance caused during the King Charles III County Proclamation ceremony in Oxford. “He has since withdrawn and is voluntarily co-operating with us as we investigate a public order offence.” A man holds a sign among members of the public attending a public proclamation to announce the accession of King Charles III, outside St Giles Cathedral, on the Royal Mile, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Sunday, September 11, 2022 (AP) Other republican protesters holding signs at campaign events were not arrested, including a man holding a “democracy” banner in Edinburgh and women holding “not our king” and “colonial subjugation of the Welsh people” banners outside Cardiff Castle on Sunday. On Monday morning, police were seen removing a woman from the area outside the Houses of Parliament after she held up a ‘not my king’ sign during a ceremony with MPs and colleagues in the House of Lords. The Metropolitan Police have not said whether the woman has been arrested. Silkie Carlo, the director of civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, told the Independent that the crackdown on free speech would “flagrantly disrespect the values that define our country”. He added: “If people are arrested simply for holding protest placards, then it is an affront to democracy and it is very likely to be illegal. Police officers have a duty to protect people’s right to protest as much as they have a duty to facilitate people’s right to express support, sorrow or pay tribute.” Adam Wagner, a lawyer specializing in human rights law, said free speech was “as important a value in times of public mourning as at any other time” and that calls for the abolition of the monarchy were a historic tradition of British protest. “Times of public sentimentality are often dangerous for rights as people forget, temporarily, that a liberal society benefits in many ways,” he tweeted. “Protest is often uncomfortable and disruptive – but it’s still a central part of our democracy.”
