Fury at police force over 'overzealous' treatment of anti-monarchy protesters

Civil liberties campaigners and MPs have sounded the alarm over police handling of dissent at events to mourn the death of the Queen and mark the beginning of the reign of King Charles

Police officers on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh before the procession of Queen Elizabeth's coffin from the Palace of Holyroodhouse (

Image: PA)

Police forces face growing anger over arrests of protesters as the Queen's coffin makes its final journey to London.

Civil liberties campaigners and MPs have sounded the alarm over the police handling of dissent at events to mourn the Queen's death and mark the start of King Charles' reign.

Two people have been charged with breaching the peace in Edinburgh, including a 22-year-old man who appeared to heckle Prince Andrew as the Queen's motorcade passed through the streets on Monday. A 22-year-old woman holding an anti-monarchy sign was also charged.

A man was arrested in Oxford, then re-arrested after shouting 'who elected him?' at a public formal reading of the proclamation of the king's accession in Oxford.

A protester with a handmade sign reading 'not my king' was stopped by police and escorted away from the front of the Palace of Westminster yesterday.

The Metropolitan Police have been forced to issue a statement after a video of a lawyer went viral claiming he had been warned by police that he risked arrest if he wrote 'not my king" on a sign.

Paul Powlesland (

Picture:

Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror)

Paul Powlesland posted the clip of him holding a blank sheet of paper and being asked for his contact details by an officer.

Alistair Carmichael, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Critic, said: 'Free speech and the right to peaceful protest have always been a cornerstone of our British democratic tradition.

“While I disagree with those who choose to protest against the monarchy this week, in an open society like ours they must have the right to express their opinions peacefully.”

Former Conservative cabinet minister David Davis has written to Police Scotland expressing concern over protesters...