Arrests of coronation protesters were ‘premeditated’, says Republic chief

Police criticised after arrests included women’s safety campaigners handing out rape alarms

The arrests of anti-monarchy protesters during the coronation was a premeditated attempt to “disrupt and diminish” their republican demonstration, a leading activist has said.

Graham Smith, the head of the group Republic, said the Metropolitan police’s decision to break up Saturday’s planned protest before it began trampled over their rights, adding the group had been in conversation with Scotland Yard for months beforehand.