Twenty-one people arrested on the day of King Charles’s Coronation will face no further action after the Crown Prosecution Service concluded there was “no realistic prospect of conviction”, police announced.
The Metropolitan Police said the arrests were made in order to prevent a breach of the peace and on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance in The Mall and in Whitehall on May 6.
Officers from the force referred the cases to the Crown Prosecution Service in August 2023.
Met Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist defended the decision for the arrests and said they had “intelligence” that indicated activists were plotting to target the procession.
He said: “We had real concerns that such efforts would not only disrupt a once-in-a-lifetime event of enormous national significance but that they could also compromise the security and safety of participants and the wider public.
“Officers were briefed on these concerns and we needed to be proactive in managing this risk and prevent any activity that could put public safety or the security of the event at risk.”
Mr Twist added the Met Police had an extensive policing plan in place to ensure people could protest peacefully.
Protests were held along the procession route, including in Trafalgar Square.
But chief executive of anti-monarchy group Republic, Graham Smith, who was one of those arrested on the day, said it is “disgraceful that it’s taken them this long to tell others who were arrested.”
And he demanded more people who were arrested seek legal action against the Met.
He told Express.co.uk: “It is disgraceful that it’s taken them this long to tell others who were arrested.
“There needs to be serious pushback against policing of protests and I would encourage all those arrested to take legal action against the Met.”
