An anti-monarchist is taking legal action against the police force that detained him for shouting at King Charles’ proclamation last year.
Symon Hill, 46, shouted ‘who elected him’ during the civic ceremony outside Carfax Tower last September, before allegedly being bundled away by security guards then placed in handcuffs by Thames Valley officers policing the event.
He was later charged with disorderly behaviour, but the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the allegations before he could enter not guilty pleas. Giving its reason for abandoning the case, the CPS said it ‘did not meet the legal test for a prosecution’.
READ MORE: Proclamation Day 'shouter' charges
Now, East Oxford’s Mr Hill is working with campaign group Liberty to take legal action against Thames Valley Police, claiming wrongful arrest. A formal pre-action letter is expected to be sent to the force this month.
Speaking to the Oxford Mail, the teacher and campaigner said: “The most important thing for me is that Thames Valley Police acknowledge that they should not have arrested me and acknowledge publicly that my arrest was unlawful and, therefore, apologise publicly for it.”
He added: “I think it’s important not only for me but anyone who wants to exercise the right to free speech for that to be acknowledged because that isn’t just in relation to what happened to me; that’s in relation to how they will behave in the future.
“For me, the most important thing is for them to say ‘we shouldn’t have arrested you, your arrest was unlawful’. I want them to acknowledge [that] what I did was lawful and somebody in a similar situation in the future expressing an opinion - that was not abusive, did not encourage violence or hatred – in the street would not be arrested.”
The veteran campaigner was among those protesting the coronation in London earlier this month.
Ahead of the day, Mr Hill expressed fears that he would be arrested again. In the end, those fears did not come to pass.
However, he criticised the policing on the day, with the leaders of group Republic arrested in the hours before the protest was due to start.
“Some individual police officers were relatively reasonable in their reactions. On the whole, their attitude was very hostile, he said.
READ MORE: Oxford campaigner fears arrest on Coronation Day
Mr Hill said new powers to tackle disruptive protests contained in the Public Order Act, parts of which came into force in the week before the coronation, ‘added to the atmosphere [or] made it clear the authorities were okay with draconian policing or almost helping it’.
He added: “It’s already made clear the fears about the Public Order Bill were justified.”
The Metropolitan Police has defended its policing of the coronation. Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said last week: “Protest is an important right in any democracy, but it is limited and has to be carefully balanced alongside consideration for the rights of others so they too can go about their normal business – in this case participating in a once in a generation event.
“Parliament has created laws requiring police to act to bring this careful balance.”
Thames Valley Police was offered an opportunity to comment about Mr Hill’s planned legal action.
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