Is there a right to protest at royal events?
- Published
In recent days, a number of people have been arrested for staging protests at official events to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the proclamation of her successor, King Charles III.
Some, including the campaign group Liberty, have raised concerns about whether the right to protest - among people who oppose the monarchy - is being curtailed.
So why were they arrested and what does the law say about their rights?
Who has been arrested?
On Sunday, a woman was arrested in Edinburgh after she was seen holding a sign with an expletive and the words "abolish the monarchy" during a proclamation ceremony for the new King. She was later charged with a breach of the peace offence.
On the same day, Symon Hill was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence after shouting "who elected him?" during a proclamation ceremony in Oxford.
Mr Hill initially claimed that police arrested him under the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act. Thames Valley Police said he was arrested under Section 5 of the Public Order Act.
Mr Hill said he was later "de-arrested" by Thames Valley Police.
Recalling the incident in a blog post, external, Mr Hill reported that police had given him "confused answers" when he asked what grounds they were arresting him on.
On Monday, a man was arrested after reportedly heckling Prince Andrew, as the royal procession moved along Edinburgh's Royal Mile. He has been charged with a breach of the peace offence.
Later that day, barrister Paul Powlesland tweeted, external to say that a police officer told him he would be arrested if he wrote 'Not My King' on a blank piece of paper Mr Powlesland was holding up in London's Parliament Square.
After he posted a video of the encounter, the Metropolitan Police tweeted, external on Monday evening saying: "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."
In Cardiff on Friday, dozens of people protested against the monarchy during a visit by the King but no arrests were made.
What does the law say about protesting?
Everyone in the UK has the right to peacefully protest.
The rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are set out in the European Convention on Human Rights, which was incorporated into British law in 1998 in the Human Rights Act, external.
But there are limits to these human rights.
Other laws allow the police to curtail freedoms when it would be necessary and proportionate to do so - particularly where it would be necessary to protect national security and public safety or prevent disorder or crime.
Protesters may be arrested under the Public Order Act, external.
Section 5 of this gives police in England and Wales the power to arrest someone whose behaviour may cause harassment, alarm or distress. It covers a range of things including shouting abuse and rowdy behaviour in the street at night. Protesters may be fined if charged with this offence.
In the year to March 2022, over 470,000 section 5 public order offences were recorded , externalin England and Wales. This was a 36% increase on the number recorded in the pre-pandemic year to March 2020.
Protesters could also be arrested for "breach of the peace". This is where a person's behaviour has caused, or may cause, harm to another person or their property. Police have the power to arrest and detain anyone who is committing, or who they believe may be about to commit, this offence.
In England and Wales, breach of the peace is an old concept that has not been turned into a full, modern criminal offence. But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) can still ask magistrates to impose certain conditions on your behaviour.
Legal experts have called into question the loose definition of breach of the peace and the "harm" that it can cause. Kevin Donoghue, of Donoghue Solicitors, external, has said that in the UK it "is often abused or misinterpreted by the arresting police officers".
In Scotland, a breach of the peace is a criminal offence and this is what was used in several of the arrests.
It includes any conduct that can cause alarm to ordinary people and threaten serious disturbance to the community.
This could include, external shouting and swearing or sending abusive text messages as well as allegations of sustained, violent behaviour and brandishing weapons.
The Scottish High Court says for the crime to be committed, the conduct has to be "genuinely alarming and disturbing, in its context, to any reasonable person".
There were 3,137 breach of the peace offences recorded in Scotland in 2020/21, external. The maximum penalty is a 60-day prison sentence, or a fine of up to £2500.
Police officers deployed along the Royal Mile in Edinburgh
What has happened in the past?
Several people were arrested for breach of the peace on the day of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in 2011 on the grounds that they were planning protests, including a "zombie wedding", that could have disrupted proceedings.
Nine of them, all of whom were held until the ceremony was over and then released without charge, took legal action that went all the way to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
They lost their legal battle, with the ECHR saying it would not consider the lawfulness of the detentions because British judges had already looked at the balance between police duties to maintain the peace and the rights of those held.
But in another case known as the Ziegler ruling, the Supreme Court ruled, external that demonstrators who had blocked a road at a military arms show should not have been convicted of obstruction because their right to temporarily and peacefully protest should have been taken into account.
That ruling led to some convictions of Extinction Rebellion protestors being overturned.
What about the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act?
So far, no anti-monarchy protesters have been arrested under the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act,, external which was passed earlier this year.
Among other laws it introduced, the Act gives police in England and Wales more powers to control protests.
The new powers mean that police are able to:
Define the meaning of a "serious disruption"
Impose start and finish times on protests and set noise limits
Apply these laws to a protest held by just one person
The government has said the new measures are necessary to combat "highly disruptive and sometimes incredibly dangerous" protests.
It claimed that protests by groups such as Extinction Rebellion had been "a drain on public funds" and that others - such as the Black Lives Matter Movement - had resulted in numerous assaults on police officers.
But Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights, external has accused the government of trying to create "new powers in areas where the police already have access to powers and offences which are perfectly adequate".
