London mayor calls for ‘urgent clarity’ from Met over policing of coronation protests

Published

2 years ago

May 9, 2023

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London mayor Sadiq Khan has called for “urgent clarity” from the Metropolitan Police over the force’s treatment of protesters during the coronation on Saturday.

A total of 64 people were arrested around the coronation – including 13 people to “prevent a breach of the peace”, and a man with an unused megaphone, who police said could “scare the horses”.

The Metropolitan Police said on Sunday night that four people had been charged – two for drug offences, one for disorderly conduct, and one charged with a religiously aggravated offence.

Of the others, one was arrested on a warrant for non-payment of fines and remains in police custody. The remaining people were either released on police bail or freed without further charge.

There have been reports volunteers who were handing out rape alarms to keep women safe in the early hours of Saturday morning were also taken into custody.

It is not clear whether these were part of the figures released by the police.

Met Police commander Karen Findlay defended the force’s action during the coronation, saying they policed “proportionately” and within the “context” of the large-scale event.

But Mr Khan – who has oversight of the force as mayor – said some of the arrests “raise questions”, adding: “Whilst investigations are ongoing, I’ve sought urgent clarity from Met leaders on the action taken.”

Anti-monarchy campaign group Republic said a number of their team were arrested “as we prepared for a peaceful and lawful protest”, and they were “detained for the rest of the day”.

The group’s leader, Graham Smith – who was arrested himself – released a statement on Sunday saying: “These arrests are a direct attack on our democracy and the fundamental rights of every person in the country.

“The right to protest peacefully in the UK no longer exists. Instead we have a freedom to protest that is contingent on political decisions made by ministers and senior police officers.”

Westminster MPs have also questioned the police’s decisions on the day.

‘Tory legislation could be to blame’

Liberal Democrats deputy leader Daisy Cooper told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday 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.

Ms Cooper said new laws brought in by the Conservative government days ahead of the coronation, which give police more power to tackle disruptive protests, could be to blame.

The legislation carries up to a year in jail for demonstrators blocking roads, airports and railways, and lets officers stop and search anyone they suspect is planning to cause disruption.

The Lib Dem MP said the “far ranging, sweeping powers” would have “a real kind of chilling effect on the right to peaceful protest”.

While it was not yet clear if the measures were used by police on Saturday, it needed to be investigated, she added.

Met urged to provide ‘accountability’

Labour’s Wes Streeting also called for the force to provide “accountability” over the concerns that have been raised about its coronation operation.

The shadow health secretary told Sophy Ridge: “I think it’s the accountability that’s important.

“Where concerns have been raised, whether that’s by Republic, the campaign for an elected head of state, or people more generally just concerned about what they’ve read in the papers or seen on the telly, it’s important that the police provide that accountability.”

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said police had to “balance the right to protest, which is important in a democracy” with the right of other people “to enjoy what was a fabulous day”.

“Overall, they managed to get that balance right,” she added.

The minister also defended the new laws, saying she had “huge confidence” in the police and trusted them to use the new powers.

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Her Tory colleague, deputy party chairman and MP Lee Anderson, went further, however.

In a tweet on Saturday, he attacked protesters going to the coronation, saying: “Not My King? If you do not wish to live in a country that has a monarchy the solution is not to turn up with your silly boards. The solution is to emigrate.”

Senior Labour MP Sir Chris Bryant later tweeted: “Freedom of speech is the silver thread that runs through a parliamentary constitutional monarchy.”

‘Proportionate’ policing

Met commander Findlay said the force “absolutely understands public concern following the arrests”.

But she said it was their “duty” to police protests “in a proportionate manner in line with relevant legislation”.

The senior officer also said context was important, adding: “The coronation is a once-in-a-generation event and that is a key consideration in our assessment.”

And she insisted a protest “involving large numbers” went ahead “with police knowledge and no intervention”.

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World

Katy Perry floats in space as part of star-studded all-female Blue Origin mission

Published

16 hours ago

April 14, 2025

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Katy Perry floats in space as part of star-studded all-female Blue Origin mission

Katy Perry has blasted off to space along with five other women in the first all-female space crew in over sixty years.

The Firework singer lifted off from West Texas on a Blue Origin rocket before becoming the first artist to sing in space.

Flying alongside Perry were author Lauren Sanchez, the fiancee of Blue Origin owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, journalist and TV presenter Gayle King, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, former rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn.

The star-studded crew were supported on the ground by family and friends including Kris Jenner, Khloe Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey, who said she had “never been more proud” of her friend, King.

“There’s only one time all the women are going up for the first time,” Oprah said she told her friend when urging her to go on the flight, telling her she’d regret turning down the opportunity.

Weightlessness

The crew were weightless for just four minutes after passing the Karman line, a 62-mile-high boundary that is internationally recognised as the boundary of space.

They could be heard screaming as they began to feel weightless, and told each other to look at the incredible views of the moon.

As the crew were leaving space, Perry started to sing What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.

Asked why she chose that song, she said: “It’s not about me or about me singing my songs, it was about a collective energy in there.

“It’s about this wonderful world that we see right out there and appreciating it.”

She confirmed she will be writing a song about the experience.

Space missions don’t get any weirder than this

A sassy crew, a billionaire and a celebrity circus in the desert. Space missions don’t get any weirder.

But this is the new world of Blue Origin and its publicity machine.

It brought together six women – all at the top of their game – and dressed them in designer flight suits. One of them, singer Katy Perry, said they “put the ass into astronauts”.

They launched in a rocket called New Shepard, rising to 65 miles above the Earth, where they unbuckled and floated.

Back on planet Earth there was a star-studded gathering. There were a couple of Kardashians. And Oprah Winfrey was there too, covering her eyes, barely able to look.

It was all a little surreal, and maybe it will have attracted an audience who wouldn’t normally watch a space launch.

It’s remarkable that this was the first all-female space mission in more than 60 years.

Read Thomas Moore’s full analysis here.

The descent

Three parachutes on their capsule opened up to bring them safely back down to Earth and just before they landed, an air cushion blew a cloud of dust up in the west Texas desert, giving a dramatic-looking touchdown.

“Excited as I am, I’ll be very glad when we come back down,” said self-confessed nervous flier King before liftoff.

When she exited the shuttle, the presenter kissed the floor and said: “Thank you, Jesus”.

She said it was “oddly quiet” in space, and it reminded her that people needed to “do better and be better” on Earth.

“It was the most incredible experience of my life to be up there and see such vast darkness in space and look down on our planet,” said Flynn, through tears.

“The moon was so beautiful and I feel like that was a special gift just for me,” she said.

World

British father and son drown off Australian coast – reports

Published

16 hours ago

April 14, 2025

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British father and son drown off Australian coast - reports

A British father and son have reportedly drowned after they were swept out to sea off the coast of a popular Australian tourist town.

The 46-year-old man and his 17-year-old son reportedly got into difficulty while swimming at a beach in Seventeen Seventy – named after the year Captain James Cook landed in Queensland.

They were declared dead at the scene after being pulled from the water by a rescue helicopter.

A third man, an Australian who is believed to have tried to rescue the pair, was taken to hospital after suffering head injuries, according to local media.

CapRescue, the emergency service that conducted the operation on Sunday, said it “was a difficult one”.

“At 2.17pm, emergency services were called to 1770 after reports three people had been swept out into the ocean,” they said in a statement on Facebook.

“Multiple crews were tasked to the scene, including CapRescue. Despite the best efforts of all involved, two people tragically lost their lives.

“One patient was transported by air to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a life-threatening condition.

“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this heartbreaking incident.”

Police confirmed the pair were visiting from the UK and said a report would be prepared for the coroner, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), while 7News reported they were father and son.

The town, at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef, draws visitors from around the world and is busy with tourists in the school holidays before Easter.

Surf Life Saving Queensland’s regional operations manager, Darren Everard, told ABC the deaths were “an absolute tragedy”.

“Around any of our creeks and headlands… especially on a high tide when there’s a big swell, it’s chaos in the water and… sadly, that’s where we have coastal fatalities in Australia,” he said.

“I think everyone should just take that little bit of time when they go on holidays, and it doesn’t matter where you are around Australia, seek local knowledge… but you also need to go to where those flags are.”

A foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of two British nationals who have died in Australia and are in contact with the local authorities.”

World

Donald Trump says the US could deport ‘homegrown criminals’ to El Salvador jail

Published

16 hours ago

April 14, 2025

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Donald Trump says the US could deport 'homegrown criminals' to El Salvador jail

Donald Trump has suggested “homegrown criminals” in the US could be deported to jails in El Salvador – saying the US attorney general is “studying the laws right now”.

He made the comment while speaking alongside the Central American nation’s president, Nayib Bukele, in the White House.

The Trump administration has sent hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members to CECOT, a maximum security prison in El Salvador, since March.

When asked about the deportations – which were briefly blocked by a US court last month – Mr Trump said: “I’d like to go a step further.

“We also have homegrown criminals that push people into subways, hit elderly ladies on the back of the head when they’re not looking, that are absolute monsters.

“I’d like to include them in people to get out of the country.”

When pressed on the matter by a reporter, he replied: “They’re as bad as anybody that comes in. We have bad ones too. I’m all for it.”

US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was present at the meeting, is “studying the laws right now”, the US president added.

“If we can do that, that’s good,” he said. “I’m talking about violent people, really bad people.

“We can do things with the president [of El Salvador] for less money and have great security. He does a great job with that. We have other we’re negotiating with too.”

The ‘world’s coolest dictator’ said all the right things for Trump

Nayib Bukele is a master of optics.

His look was slick – a black suit and long-sleeve black t-shirt beneath – fitting for the man who’s dubbed himself “the world’s coolest dictator”.

And the Salvadorian president said all the right things, aligning his few chosen words with US priorities.

“How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?” he replied, when asked if he’d be returning a prisoner deported by mistake.

That will have gone down well in the White House.

The Oval Office has become a diplomatic minefield since Donald Trump returned to power.

Sir Keir Starmer’s letter from the King was considered a masterstroke. Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s scrutinising of foreign policy, quite the opposite.

Others, like Ireland’s premier Micheal Martin, said as little as possible while seated next to Trump.

Bukele didn’t say much either, opting for a touch of deference to “the leader of the free world”.

He wants to position El Salvador as a key player in the region, not just a small country in Latin America.

His authoritarian leanings back home may appeal to the US president.

And Bukele is savvy enough to milk that for all it’s worth.

The Trump administration has been deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members to the El Salvador jail since mid-March, when the US president signed the Alien Enemies Act.

The law from 1798 has been invoked just three times before, in wartime. It allows the president to detain and deport immigrants living in the US legally if they are from countries seen as “enemies” of the government.

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Lawyers and immigrant rights groups have been unable to contact the men sent to the 40,000 capacity CECOT prison – the largest detention facility in Latin America.

A judge issued a temporary block on the deportations on 17 March, but this was lifted by the Supreme Court last week.