Coronation protests allowed, security minister Tom Tugendhat says

Anti-monarchy groups will be allowed to protest at the King's Coronation on Saturday, security minister Tom Tugendhat has insisted.

His comments came after one group planning a demonstration on the Coronation route was warned of new laws banning "serious disruption".

Republic, which campaigns to abolish the monarchy, accused the Home Office of sending an intimidatory message.

It says police chiefs have accepted its demonstration is lawful and peaceful.

The Public Order Act came into effect on Wednesday - and days beforehand, officials from the Home Office's Police Powers Unit wrote two letters to Republic to list how it had tightened laws on the right to protest.

Republic is co-ordinating demonstrations across the UK and has held talks with the Metropolitan Police over a protest in London's Trafalgar Square, as the King's procession passes.

The group hopes up to 1,700 supporters will gather around the statue of Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649, and hold yellow placards declaring "Not My King".

A Home Office letter sent on 28 April does not mention the protest, but the unnamed official tells Republic: "I would be grateful if you could publicise and forward this letter to your members who are likely to be affected by these legislative changes."

Graham Smith, the organisation's chief, described that letter as "intimidatory".

He said there had been two constructive face-to-face meetings with Scotland Yard's public order commander, who had been entirely satisfied that the plan was legal and peaceful.

Mr Smith said: "We have gone through our plans - where we are going to be, what placards we have, and that we have no intention of doing anything disruptive. The police have repeatedly said they have no concerns about our plans and we can turn up and do what we are planning.

"The tone and the anonymity [of the 28 April letter] feels like a passive-aggressive attempt to put us off. I don't know why the Home Office has sent this, given it's the police's job to police. The lawyers were perplexed why it was sent."

Defending the letter on the BBC's Today programme, Mr Tugendhat said that anti-monarchy groups have the "liberty that anybody in the United Kingdom has to protest, what they don't have the liberty to do is to disrupt others".

He added that the complexity of the security operation for the Coronation was heightened by the presence of foreign leaders.

"It's perfectly possible that we're dealing with protest groups that have nothing to do with the UK, but are seeking to protest against a foreign leader who's visiting, or seeking to make a complaint about something that's happening hundreds or thousands of miles away," he said.

Mr Tugendhat refused to discuss what actions could be punished at the Coronation "for fear of encouraging people to find loopholes", but said they were introduced in response to protests in the UK becoming "disruptive" and "intrusive".

The 2023 Public Order Act is the government's second major piece of legislation changing protest laws in under two years.

In 2022 MPs voted to place greater restrictions on public processions if they are too noisy.

The new act goes further:

The Home Office describes the laws as "sensible and proportionate measures" in response to actions by groups such Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain that have caused "serious disruption".

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