The Met Police have insisted ‘the public have a right to protest’ after a man said an officer told him that he risked being arrested if he wrote ‘not my King’ on a placard.
Climate activist Paul Powlesland, 36, from Barking, stood in Parliament Square, London, holding a blank piece of paper when a police officer confronted him yesterday afternoon.
Footage shows the officer approaching Mr Powlesland, who says he is not a republican, asking for his details following confusion over whether he had already been arrested.
In the video the lawyer can be heard saying ‘I was holding a blank sign, why were you asking for my details?’ to which the officer replies ‘you said you were going to write stuff on it that may offend people’.
Mr Powlesland then asks the officer ‘who’s that going to offend’ to which the officer replied ‘I don’t know some one may be offended by it.’
The climate activist added: ‘I said I was going to write not my King on a sign and you asked for my details.’
Climate activist Paul Powlesland, stood in Parliament Square, London, holding a blank piece of paper when a police officer confronted him
Following the incident, Mr Powlesland wrote on Twitter: ‘Just went to Parliament Square and held up a blank piece of paper. Officer came & asked for my details.
‘He confirmed that if I wrote ‘Not My King’ on it, he would arrest me under the Public Order Act because someone might be offended.’
Speaking after the encounter, he said: ‘I’m not actually a republican, or I wasn’t before this week. Like most British people, I was vaguely ambivalent to the monarchy.
‘But this week, and what’s been happening, has made me republican.
‘One of the many things that makes me proud to be British is our freedom of speech. It’s one of our most precious and sacred rights and it’s far more precious to me than the royal family is.’
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy added: ‘The public absolutely have a right to protest and we have been making this clear to all officers involved in the extraordinary policing operation currently in place and we will continue to do so.
‘However, the overwhelming majority of interactions between officers and the public at this time have been positive as people have come to the Capital to mourn the loss of Her Late Majesty the Queen.’
In a statement regarding the incident the Met Police said: ‘The public absolutely have a right to protest and we have been making this clear to all officers involved’
The 36-year-old said: ‘I went down there because I’ve been increasingly concerned by people who are just, you know, exercising rights to freedom of speech, being either arrested or threatened with arrest by the police.
‘I actually couldn’t risk arrest as I’m due to be in tribunal (on Tuesday). So I just thought I’d take a blank piece of paper down there.
‘Partly, as a comment as well on the lack of freedom of speech and how ridiculous it is. So I held that up and various police officers spoke to me and I tried to find out from some of them, whether if I wrote, ‘not my King’ on it, they would arrest me.’
Mr Powlesland’s video had been viewed more than 700,000 times in around four hours.
He was not arrested but said the encounter with the police officer has strengthened his feelings.
He added: ‘It feels like a very odd time. Using the respect that is due to the Queen and her death, as a way of silencing any dissent over Charles’s accession.
‘The officer himself was from Norfolk Police. And I basically said, you know, maybe go back to Norfolk, and actually do what you’re supposed to do as a police officer, protecting ordinary people from crime, rather than messing around and telling people what they can and can’t have on signs in London.
‘Initially, these things make you feel scared, but afterwards, it actually makes me feel more inclined to go out there and to protest to uphold our rights.’
The arrests of anti-monarchy protesters after the death of the Queen have been described as ‘deeply concerning’ and an ‘affront to democracy’ by free speech and human rights campaigners.
It comes as Police Scotland confirmed that five people had been arrested across the country in 48 hours for ‘breach of the peace’ offences as the Queen’s cortege travelled from Balmoral Castle to Edinburgh.
A breach of the peace arrest or charge can be brought when someone is accused of disorderly conduct which could cause fear, alarm or disturbance to others.
Earlier today a young man was filmed heckling Prince Andrew as he followed the Queen’s coffin through the Scottish capital.
The man was seen shouting ‘Andrew, you’re a sick old man’ as the disgraced Duke of York, 62, followed behind his mother’s hearse.
The Duke of York was exiled from public life after one of Jeffery Epstein’s victims alleged the royal had sexually abused her when she was 17 and a minor under U.S. Law.
Prince Andrew denied the claims but settled the action with a large payout.
After a short scuffle, a police officer led the youngster away as he shouted ‘disgusting’ and ‘I’ve done nothing wrong’ while others shouted, ‘God Save the King’.
Police Scotland later confirmed that a 22-year-old man was arrested in connection with a breach of the peace on the Royal Mile around 2.50pm this afternoon.
A 52-year-old man was also arrested today in connection with a breach of the peace in Jeffrey Street, Edinburgh. He will appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at a later date with a report being sent to the Procurator Fiscal.
On Sunday, the police force also made a further three arrests in connection with a breach of the peace.
This included a 38-year-old man in Aberdeen who was allegedly seen clutching eggs as the Queen’s coffin cortege was due to arrive in the city.
He was later charged before being released on an undertaking.
He is due to appear in court at a later date with a report being sent to the Procurator Fiscal.
A 22-year-old woman and a 74-year-old man were also arrested in the Scottish capital.
The man was arrested in the vicinity of the Palace of Holyroodhouse and was later charged.
He is due to appear in Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday September 12.
The woman was also charged and released on an undertaking to appear in Edinburgh Sherriff Court at a later date.
Anti-monarchy protestors have also been arrested in other parts of the country.
A small number of protestors gathered at the Accession Proclamation Ceremony at Mercat Cross in Edinburgh on Sunday, where King Charles III was public proclaimed as the new monarch
In London yesterday a protestor holding a sign that read ‘Abolish the Monarchy’ and ‘Not my King’ outside the Palace of Westminster was led away by police before King Charles and the Queen Consort arrived to receive condolences from members of the House of Commons.
The woman protesting in Westminster wore a t-shirt emblazoned with the logo for the Campaign To Abolish The Monarchy, which yesterday called on people to protest the new King at Parliament Square this morning.
A number of Met Police officers led the woman away, while people took photos and videos. One man engaged with the protester but it is unclear if he was criticising her or showing his support.
A woman protested the new King outside Parliament this morning, holding a sign that read ‘Abolish the Monarchy’ on one side and ‘Not my King’ on the other
A Met spokesperson said: ‘A member of the public was asked to move away from the Carriage Gates outside the Palace of Westminster this morning in order to facilitate vehicle access and egress through the gates.
‘She was not arrested and was not asked to leave the wider area.’
On Sunday, Symon Hill, 45, was arrested by Thames Valley Police during the proclamation of King Charles in the university town of Oxford.
Mr Hill shouted ‘Who elected him?’ during the reading and was subsequently arrested by officers on suspicion of a public order offence under Section 5 of the Public Order Act.
He was later de-arrested after he refused to be interviewed without a lawyer and was driven home by police.
The protestor, who works part-time at the Peace Pledge Union, said he had no intentions of protesting at the proclamation and had been headed home from his Sunday Church service.
Symon Hill (pictured) was arrested by Thames Valley Police for shouting ‘who elected him’ at the King’s proclamation reading in Oxford on Sunday. He was later de-arrested and driven home by officers. Mr Hill added he will ‘probably protest’ when the coronation happens
However, he said he will ‘probably’ demonstrate during King Charles III’s coronation.
He added: ‘Whether I’ll be involved in an organised protest, I don’t know. ‘I’m not actively organising one, but that isn’t to say I wouldn’t join in if there was something happening.
‘I will probably protest at the coronation when it happens.
‘It will be non-violent and directed at the institution rather than personal insults at individuals.’
Thames Valley Police said: ‘A 45-year-old man was arrested in connection with a disturbance that was caused during the county proclamation ceremony of King Charles III in Oxford.
‘He has subsequently been de-arrested and is engaging with us voluntarily as we investigate a public order offence.’
