London’s Metropolitan Police Service has expressed “regret” over the arrests of anti-monarchy activists on Saturday, the day of King Charles III’s coronation.
It comes after the Met initially defended the dozens of arrests made on Saturday following fierce backlash, with many accusing the force of taking a heavy-handed approach toward demonstrators led by Britain’s largest anti-monarchy group, Republic.
Police arrested 64 people on coronation day. Among those were six anti-monarchy protesters, who have since been released and will face no further action, police said.
In a statement released Monday, the force did not apologize for the arrests but said it regretted the fact that activists were unable to join the planned protest because of the detentions.
Graham Smith, head of Republic, was among the six people arrested on Saturday. He said three Met Police officers visited his home on Monday to apologize and return the items that were confiscated from him during the arrest.
“They apologised while wearing a body cam. I made it clear the apology is not accepted as we will be taking further action,” he said on Twitter.
Credit: cnn.com
