UK Police Confirm People ‘Have Right to Protest’ Against Monarchy After Arrests

Crowds watch as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland, passes Mercat Cross in Edinburgh on Sept. 11, 2022. Ian Forsyth/PA Media

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed people “absolutely have a right to protest” against the monarchy, despite a number of incidents in which individuals were detained or even charged over anti-royalist placards.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II has largely been greeted with sadness and respect but there have been incidents where people with a republican agenda have sought to make their views known.

On Monday a 22-year-old woman was charged with a breach of the peace after holding up a placard which said: “[Expletive] Imperialism: Abolish the Monarchy” outside St. Giles’s Cathedral in Edinburgh on Sunday when King Charles III was being proclaimed as monarch.

In Oxford, where the proclamation of Charles as king was being read out in the street, Symon Hill, 45, was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence after heckling by shouting, “Who elected him?”

Hill was later dearrested.

In London a woman protester who held up a sign saying “not my king” was ushered away from the Palace of Westminster by police, although it was not clear under what powers they were acting.

Then on Monday afternoon Paul Powlesland, 36, a barrister, was confronted by police officers when he held up a blank piece of paper in Parliament Square.

Powlesland said one officer asked him for his name and address and told him he would be arrested if he wrote “not my king” on the paper.

The Metropolitan Police issued a statement after a video of the incident went viral.

‘The Public Absolutely Have a Right of Protest’

Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said: “We’re aware of a video online showing an officer speaking with a member of the public outside the Palace of Westminster earlier today. The public absolutely have a right of protest and we have been making this clear to all officers involved in the extraordinary policing operation currently in place and we will continue do so.”

Cundy said most interactions between the police and the public had been “positive.”

Ruth Smeeth, chief executive of Index on Censorship, said the incidents in London, Oxford, and Edinburgh were “deeply concerning” and said, “The fundamental right to freedom of expression, including the right to protest, is something to be protected regardless of circumstance.”

Jodie Beck, policy and campaigns officer at Liberty, said: “Protest is not a gift from the state, it is a fundamental right. Being able to choose what, how, and when we protest is a vital part of a healthy and functioning democracy.”

In England and Wales, someone can be charged under the Public Order Act with disorderly behaviour if they use threatening or abusive language “which is likely to cause others present harassment, alarm or distress.”

But voicing opposition to the monarchy would not normally be an offence under the Public Order Act.

Scotland passed the controversial Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act last year, which has been criticised for curbing free speech.

PA Media contributed to this report.