‘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”.
World
Ukraine war: 14 killed as Russian missile and drone attacks strike Kyiv – including American citizen
Russian missile and drone attacks have killed 14 people in Kyiv overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.
A 62-year-old US citizen who suffered shrapnel wounds is among the dead.
At least 99 others were wounded in strikes that hollowed out a residential building and destroyed dozens of apartments.
Pic: AP
Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
Images show a firefighter was among those hurt, with injured residents evacuated from their homes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “one of the most terrifying attacks on Kyiv” – and said Russian forces had fired 440 drones and 32 missiles as civilians slept in their homes.
“[Putin] wants the war to go on,” he said. “It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it.”
Pic: AP
Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said 27 locations across the capital have been hit – including educational institutions and critical infrastructure.
He claimed the attack, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, was one of the largest on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Drones swarmed over the city, with an air raid alert remaining in force for seven hours.
One person was killed and 17 others injured as a result of separate Russian drone strikes in the port city of Odesa.
Pic: Reuters
It comes as the G7 summit in Canada continues, which Ukraine’s leader is expected to attend.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold talks with Donald Trump – but the president has announced he is unexpectedly returning to Washington because of tensions in the Middle East.
Ukraine’s foreign minister says Moscow’s decision to attack Kyiv during the summit is a signal of disrespect to the US.
Moscow has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks, and says the attacks are in retaliation for a Ukrainian operation that targeted warplanes in airbases deep within Russian territory.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko says fires broke out in two of the city’s districts as a result of debris from drones shot down by the nation’s air defences.
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Pic: AP
On X, Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote: “Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians continues. Its war against Ukraine escalates with increased brutality.
“The only way to stop Russia is tighter pressure – through sanctions, more defence support for Ukraine, and limiting Russia’s ability to keep sowing war.”
Olena Lapyshnak, who lived in one of the destroyed buildings, said: “It’s horrible, it’s scary, in one moment there is no life. I can only curse the Russians, that’s all I can say. They shouldn’t exist in this world.”
World
Israeli tank shelling kills 51 people waiting for aid in Khan Younis, Hamas-run health ministry says
Israeli tank shellfire has killed at least 51 Palestinians in Khan Younis, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
Hundreds of others have been injured, with “dozens of critical cases” arriving at a medical complex.
It is feared that the number of fatalities will rise.
Pic: Reuters
The strikes took place as people waited for United Nations and commercial aid trucks in the southern Gaza city.
Witnesses said that Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd.
“Emergency, intensive care, and operating rooms are experiencing severe overcrowding,” a statement said.
Officials say medical staff “are operating with limited supplies of life-saving medicines” – with the ministry renewing an “urgent appeal” to increase aid.
Pic: Reuters
Hours earlier, Donald Trump had joined other G7 leaders to call for a “de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza”.
The Israeli military is yet to comment on this incident.
On Monday, Gaza’s health ministry said at least 34 people were shot dead near food distribution centres.
This was the highest reported daily total since Israel and US-backed aid centres opened last month, with thousands of Palestinians moving through Israeli military-controlled areas to reach them.
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