The police has apologised over the arrest of the republican group

The police are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

What it comes down to is this.
The republicans were there to peacefully disrupt the proceedings. They admit that.
We have no way of knowing what their idea of peaceful means.
Evidently beheading the Royal Family counts as peaceful to republicans.
The police are damned if they do something and damned if they don’t.
I’m glad they did something.
Its always the same for the police. e.g. the occasional police presence by our school to deter parents from parking are slanged for doing so. When a child (of a protesting parent) was knocked down, the police were slanged for not being there.

Thanks Juicylucy. It’s good to hear a first hand account. And yes, Smileless, it wouldn’t have taken much to spook that horse - and there frequently is one such on these occasions, no matter how well trained.

It's good to hear from someone who was actually there Juicylucy.

One of the well trained horses being ridden along side the carriage was jittery oodles and has been said on this thread several times, the police were damned if they did and had there been an incident, damned if they didn't.

I agree GANNET you can't really win too little or too much.

I was witnessed this , honestly the police acted in the correct manner. People in the vicinity felt vulnerable and intimated. It was getting out of hand and a decision was made due to that.

The rape alarms were taken from volunteers. Monday was supposed to be encouraging volunteers, fine way to encourage volunteering
I've seen police horses at Olympia where there is music loudly blaring over the speakers and a huge arena full of people ch3ring and clapping. Those horses jump through hoops on fire. Not once but many times, and through paper covered hoops, now the horses don't know they are paper, they must look to the horses like a solid wall when they see them, a few piddling little rape alarms over the sound of huge military bands wasn't going to spook them, the most bombproof horses will have been chosen

Yes cannot win really - too little or too much…

So in your glorious age it was illegal to be gay, perhaps those people shouldnt have protested and campaigned to change the law. In your glorious age rape within marriage was legal perhaps those women shouldnt have protested and campaigned for change. At least people would have had a peaceful life.

Whilst a right to protest appears now to be enshrined in British law ......OTHERS HAVE RIGHTS AS WELL .....the right to enjoy a nationwide event which is part of our history ......the Police acted in the best interests of those who went to the Coronation for a peaceful celebration of our culture .....I am getting really fed up with this 'What about me generation'..............growing up in an austere Britain in the 50's no, we had little food, little heating, although jobs were mostly available and hardly anyone shirked working ! My dad used to call them wasters ha ha ....but we grew up with discipline and rules and we respected others......what on earth happened ...............perhaps all us over a certain age should make a few banners and start gluing ourselves to the road ......(not that I would ever be able to get down there in the first place !) so whilst your rights to protest may be law...where are OUR rights to a peaceful life ...................too much attention is paid to these people ...they want to do something useful with their lives !

They may very well be sued GoldenAge, as I could equally well have been sued if anything had gone wrong. I suppose you would have been saying Well at least they didn’t arrest any of the innocent protesters if some of less well-intentioned republican protesters had done any of the things mentioned.

The idea that people who disagree with the idea of a coronation/royal family shouldn't be allowed to express their views is medieval. I'm sorry Allsorts but to suggest people who don't want to continue with a monarchy migrate is absolutely absurd. I can't actually believe I've seen a comment like this on gransnet!
As for the arrests, they were well-timed to keep the streets silent so that the minority - and they are definitely a minority - could enjoy the spectacle of privilege and profligacy. There are no laws covering the arrests - I hope the police are sued for their behaviour.

The police have not apologised to the three Westminster Night Stars who were trained and criminal record checked volunteers. They were wearing high vis jackets with Westminster logos. They were carrying rape alarms as part of their kit. They were arrested by an Essex TSG (Territorial Support Group). I am totally disgusted with the Met Police - why not apologise? Imagine how you would feel if this happened to you? I hope the victims sue the police for wrongful arrest.

Allsorts

Why would anyone go to a Coronation with placards if not to disrupt an occasion where people have slept out all night, coped with the rain, if not to try to ruin it. No one same would think that appropriate behaviour. Police should not have apologised, they should stick up against these militant embittered people.
Just say it's impossible now to keep law and order because of people like that. You can't have it both ways. I don't know why people live in a country with a monarchy when there are so many others without one, they just want trouble.

It’s called a democracy, and if the police are allowed to get away with arresting people ‘just in case’ there’s trouble, it’s a slippery slope - what’s next ? They’re not militant or bitter, they’re exercising their legal and democratic right to protest. And the police were given powers to ‘police’ protests, not to shut them down before they start.

Well said NanaDana totally agree!

I agree that the arrests were due to the police enforcing their interpretation of a very controversial new piece of legislation. That they apologised publicly is something I suppose but tbh the Met Police have hardly covered themselves in glory in recent years so an apology seems politic rather than sincere.

😳

I am ashamed by the police action/reaction ! There was no evidence to show these protesters were going to be violent, disrupt, take over the event! They want an alternative to what was on offer! This Gov is showing its true right wing, dictatorial colours and we all need to be aware, afraid and be counted!
The right to protest is enshrined in our way of life, as is the right to strike not always acceptable but mainly necessary ! If this goes then we are left like Iran, Syria etc!
We are fortunate at the moment
I despise Braverman and her followers! Fascist to her core

MaizieD

^Easy to picture the number, neither republican nor monarchist who would happily swear to be republican if it allowed them to do what the republicans were accused of doing.^
Throw paint?
I did it in the name of the republicans.
Make posters that hopefully the majority of Republicans wouldn’t do?
I did it in the name of Republicans.
Use rape alarms to spook the horses and upset people enjoying themselves?
I did it in the name of Republicans.

There's a flaw in your argument here, Mollygo

The Republicans, or republicans (are you using capitals and lower case to distinguish between different republicans?) didn't do most of those things. The only true one ids holding placards.

It's not even proven that they had the where withal to do any of the others. Or that they had any intention of doing them.

Would that matter?
(No proof necessary. As we know, people believe what the media tell them.)
Once a group is associated with unacceptable behaviour, others will use belonging to that group as a way of indulging their wishes to behave badly.
No, I wasn’t using capital and lowercase letters to distinguish between anything. A republican is a republican.
Didn’t do most of those things or weren’t able to do most of those things?
And the beheading poster?
Was that a real republican or is that going to be dismissed as someone bringing republicans into disrepute?

there's a vast difference between wanting the Monarchy abolished or not regarding it as important Whitewavemark.

Throw paint?
They didn't

Make posters that hopefully the majority of Republicans wouldn’t do?
What poster?

Use rape alarms to spook the horses and upset people enjoying themselves?
That's not what they were going to do.

Easy to picture the number, neither republican nor monarchist who would happily swear to be republican if it allowed them to do what the republicans were accused of doing.
Throw paint?
I did it in the name of the republicans.
Make posters that hopefully the majority of Republicans wouldn’t do?
I did it in the name of Republicans.
Use rape alarms to spook the horses and upset people enjoying themselves?
I did it in the name of Republicans.

There's a flaw in your argument here, Mollygo

The Republicans, or republicans (are you using capitals and lower case to distinguish between different republicans?) didn't do most of those things. The only true one ids holding placards.

It's not even proven that they had the where withal to do any of the others. Or that they had any intention of doing them.

Whitewavemark2

Or

The national centre for social research shows that only 33% strongly support the monarchy, and 45% say it should either be demolished or was not important.

I think that figures do suggest that support for the monarchy is certainly in decline.

Don’t forget the demography of GN and understand that its attitude to the monarchy is not typical.

How many people does the national centre for social research say support the UK becoming a republic though? I’m not a monarchist, but nor am I a republican, and I’m fairly typical I would think.
If you post a link we can compare the two?

Or

The national centre for social research shows that only 33% strongly support the monarchy, and 45% say it should either be demolished or was not important.

I think that figures do suggest that support for the monarchy is certainly in decline.

Don’t forget the demography of GN and understand that its attitude to the monarchy is not typical.

Whitewavemark2

Mollygo

Are those numbers factual, or extrapolated from a small number of people questioned?

😄😄😄 try you gov.

YouGov isn’t saying that exactly though Whitewavemark2?

yougov.co.uk/topics/society/articles-reports/2023/05/03/where-does-public-opinion-stand-monarchy-ahead-cor

Only asking because none of my DGC were asked.