A royal fan who was arrested and detained for 13 hours after being mistaken for a protester at the coronation has said the experience was “shocking.”
Alice Chambers, 36, said she took her place on The Mall in central London at around 7 a.m. on the Saturday and hoped to see King Charles III and Queen Camilla as they passed, but she was unaware she was standing near a group from Just Stop Oil.
Chambers, originally from Australia but now working in London as an architect, told the BBC’s “Newsnight” programme she was “grabbed” by a police officer and handcuffed, along with several Just Stop Oil protesters, at 9 a.m.
She was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit public nuisance and was questioned, held in a cell, and had her DNA and fingerprints taken.
‘Innocent Bystander’
Chambers told the BBC: “It’s just been so shocking and very emotional because it’s not something you ever expect, to find yourself in a jail cell for an extended period of time.“I think about all the things I could have done that day, all the parties I could have gone to but I chose to attend the coronation and I got to see none of it,” she added.
Chambers said, “You would think that this should never happen and clearly there’s processes that either need to be put in place, or that weren’t followed because no one should endure an extended period under arrest just because they’re an innocent bystander.”
She said she repeatedly tried to explain she had nothing to do with Just Stop Oil and added, “Up until they started protesting, I didn’t even know what they were protesting.”
Smith was later released without charge.
The police, who were using tougher powers under the new Public Order Act, said they had reasonable grounds to believe Smith and five other Republic members who were arrested, were in possession of locking-on devices, which are sometimes used by groups like Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion to disrupt events.
On Monday, Smith wrote on Twitter: “This evening three Met police officers visited my home to hand back my phone and the luggage straps. They apologised while wearing a body cam. I made it clear the apology is not accepted as we will be taking further action.”
The Met has said 64 people were arrested on Saturday, 52 of whom were arrested over fears they planned to disrupt the coronation, which passed off without incident.
‘Legislation Too Broadly Defined’
Davis told the BBC: “The police and the Home Office have to get straight exactly how they protect our democratic rights at the same time as protecting the day for thousands of people. The whole law is defined really very broadly. It’s also true for the stop-and-search powers as well. There are a whole series of elements of law which are just too broadly defined.”A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We are aware that a woman was arrested in relation to a protest on May 6. The arresting officer was from Lincolnshire Police and the complaint has therefore been passed to the relevant force to investigate. The Met will assist by providing any relevant information they require.”
Chief Inspector Simon Outen, from Lincolnshire Police, said, “Our officers were in central London providing mutual aid support to colleagues in the Met on Saturday, May 6, and during that time, a woman in her 30s was arrested in connection with a Just Stop Oil protest.”
“She was subsequently released with no further action. We have now received a complaint and we are reviewing the incident, and we are in contact with the complainant to establish the full details of her allegations,” he said.
In a statement released today by the Metropolitian Police, it said: “The commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, has written to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to clarify the police’s actions regarding protesters.
In the letter, Rowley said, “You know I have been more challenging of our need to improve than any commissioner for decadess and will always call out our shortcomings.”
“I do not see this as one of those occasions, but of course, that does not obviate the need for debrief and learning that will follow any big operation. No major operation is ever perfect and we will always seek to learn and improve,” he added.
The Public Order Bill, which became law on May 2, created the offence of “locking on,” which includes handcuffing yourself to a railing or gluing yourself to a road.
The House of Lords also heard concerns on Thursday about delays in introducing protections for journalists and others monitoring protests.
The specialist protection will not come into force until July 2, two months after the rest of the Public Order Bill.
Home Office minister Lord Sharpe of Epsom was unable to explain the time lag.
Labour’s shadow attorney general Baroness Chakrabarti said she was bemused and unimpressed.
Chakrabarti, the former leader of civil liberties group Liberty, was the architect of an amendment which added protections for journalists to the act, an amendment which ended up receiving cross-party support.
