‘Grateful’ PM says police make decisions on ‘what they think is best’ after coronation arrests backlash
Rishi Sunak has said the Metropolitan Police make decisions on “what they think is best” as he was questioned about their treatment of protesters during the coronation.
The force has faced a backlash after a total of 64 people were arrested on Saturday – including 13 people to “prevent a breach of the peace” and a man with an unused megaphone, who police said could “scare the horses”.
Four people were then charged.
Reports also claimed volunteers who were handing out rape alarms to keep women safe in the early hours of Saturday morning were taken into custody.
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Met Police commander Karen Findlay defended the force’s actions, saying officers policed the coronation “proportionately” and within the “context” of the large-scale event.
But opposition politicians and protest groups have raised concerns officers were heavy-handed and impinged on the right to protest.
Asked about the criticism, the prime minister said: “The police are operationally independent of government, they’ll make these decisions based on what they think is best.
“And actually I am grateful to the police and everyone who played a part in ensuring this weekend has gone so well, so successfully and so safely.
“That was an extraordinary effort by so many people and I am grateful to them for all their hard work.”
Rishi Sunak was speaking from Hertfordshire where he has been volunteering as part of the coronation weekend.
But the chair of the London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee, Caroline Russell, said it felt like there had been “a chilling suppression” of protest over the weekend.
Speaking to Sky News, she said the policing seemed “heavy handed”, adding: “It feels as if it was designed to make people afraid to go and protest.
“And I don’t feel comfortable with that as the atmosphere around our rights and our freedoms to protest.”
Earlier, Ms Russell said her committee questions London Mayor Sadiq Khan – who has sought “urgent clarity” around the arrests – and the force every fortnight, “so of course we will be questioning this because I’m sure members of all parties will want to have their questions answered”.
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Graham Smith from Republic: Arrests a ‘serious moment for our democracy’
The arrests came after police were given additional powers to tackle disruptive protests through new government legislation just days before the coronation took place.
The change to the law means demonstrators face up to a year in jail for blocking roads, airports and railways, and lets officers stop and search anyone they suspect is planning to cause disruption.
The head of the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, Graham Smith, said he was arrested before the coronation on Saturday and held in a police cell for 16 hours, despite engagement with the Met for four months over the group’s protest plans.
“The whole thing was a deliberate attempt to disrupt and diminish our protest in order to protect the coronation,” he told the BBC.
“[The Met] has repeatedly said right up until Friday that they had no concerns about our protest plans, they were well aware of what we were going to do and they would engage with us and not disrupt us – so they have repeatedly lied about their intentions and I believe that they had every intention of arresting us prior to doing so.”
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Watch the moment a royal fan confronted anti-monarchy protesters in central London
Asked if, within the context of the coronation – where many thousands wanted to attend the event and celebrate – police were right to take action, Mr Smith said: “That is not an excuse to rob people of their rights, that is not an excuse to arrest people and detain them for 16 hours because some people want to enjoy a party, that is a disgraceful suggestion.
“You have to be able to protest and if some people don’t like the fact that there were protesters there then, frankly, they have to put up with it.
“You cannot say that they have to enjoy a party and therefore other people have to be arrested.”
On Sunday, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, Daisy Cooper, told Sky News she had “concerns” the force did not get the balance right when it came to ensuring the event went ahead safely while allowing peaceful protest.
“Whether you are royalist or whether you are republican, we should all be able to agree on free speech and the right to protest,” she added.
But Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, told Sophy Ridge on Sunday the Met “managed to get that balance right”, while deputy chairman of the Conservative party, Lee Anderson, told those who didn’t approve of the celebrations to “emigrate”.
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
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What’s in the proposed deal?
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
Analysis:
Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions
Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
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Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
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Biden: ‘Never, never, never, ever give up’
Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
Read more:
A timeline of events since the 7 October attacks
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
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