Police Officer Who Arrested Anti-Monarchy Protester ‘Was Aware’ No Offence Had Been Committed

Police-worn bodycam footage shows that police arrested an anti-monarchy protester even though they knew he had done nothing wrong, campaigners say.

After a two and a half year legal pursuit, Thames Valley Police has finally admitted it was wrong to arrest a man who shouted “Who elected him?” at a royal event in September 2022.

45-year-old Symon Hill was arrested, hand-cuffed and bundled into a police van after he called out at the county proclamation ceremony for King Charles in Oxford.

In police body-worn footage shared during the legal challenge, officers can be heard saying: “But we do need to fine or de-arrest as we will get a complaint off the back of this.” Hill was charged despite this.

Katy Watts, a lawyer at human rights organisation Liberty which helped Hill pursue the legal challenge, said: “It is quite clearly not a criminal offence to shout ‘Who elected him?’, and the body-worn footage clearly shows that the arresting officer was aware of this.”

Hill has now received compensation of £2,500. He said: “It has taken the police two and a half years to recognise that expressing an opinion in the street is not a crime. Opposing the monarchy is not a crime.”

He added that the case shows that anti-protest laws have gone too far. He said: “With the vague anti-protest laws as they are, anybody could face arrest for expressing an opinion in a public space. The law must be changed and the police must be held to account.”

Hill was one of several anti-monarchy protesters to be arrested around royal events as the King’s reign was proclaimed, including a woman who held a sign saying “Fuck imperialism. Abolish monarchy” and a man who shouted “Andrew, you’re a sick old man!” at the Duke of York in Edinburgh.

Graham Smith, CEO of anti-monarchy campaign Republic, said: “Symon had absolutely every right to express his view in public. No law was broken, it is clear the police knew that, yet they went as far as charging him.

“As well as a review of protest law there needs to be consequences for police officers who commit unlawful arrests. I hope the officers in Symon’s case face disciplinary action for their appalling abuse of power.”

Kevin Blowe from Netpol said: “In our experience, the police at protests are most concerned with what is immediately convenient to them. This inevitably leads to the abuse of public order powers but the prospect of a future civil action is factored into the decisions made on the ground.”

Deputy chief constable Ben Snuggs said: “Thames Valley Police has settled a claim with Mr Hill and has accepted that the grounds of the offence for which he was arrested were unlawful. Public order and public safety operations are a key part of policing and it’s important we use these circumstances to help shape our future response.”

Royal events have often been marked by arrests of anti-monarchy protesters.

On the day of the Queen’s golden jubilee in 2002, protesters from Movement Against the Monarchy unfurled banners bearing the words “Charles Must Never Be King” at Tower Hill in London. This led to the arrest of 40 people who were sitting in a pub, who were later compensated to the tune of £80,000.

Police also made 20 preemptive arrests, detentions or searches before the royal wedding in 2011.