Irish Examiner view: Right of protest

Death of Queen Elizabeth II

People protest ahead of the Accession Proclamation Ceremony at Cardiff Castle, Wales, publicly proclaiming King Charles III as the new monarch last Sunday.

Ceremonies continue apace in Britain ahead of the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II next Monday, and there is no shortage of peripheral events clawing for attention.

Whether it is fevered online speculation about the size of the new king’s fingers, or the BBC broadcast pleading with people to cease donating marmalade sandwiches as tributes to the queen, detached observers have had plenty of opportunities for distraction across the water.

However, serious questions are also being asked about the right to protest in Britain after several incidents in recent days where crowds have gathered.

Individuals have claimed that police officers in London warned them of the possibility of arrest if they wrote anti-monarchy slogans on blank placards, in Edinburgh at least two people were charged with breaching the peace at royal processions, and in Oxford a man was arrested for asking “who elected him?” at the proclamation ceremony for King Charles III.

Whether or not it is appropriate to heckle mourners at a funeral, which is one reading of the events in Edinburgh which led to police intervention, it certainly seems heavy-handed to arrest someone for a reasonable question at a civic ceremony such as a proclamation ceremony.

There were warnings aplenty in Britain of the sweeping powers conferred on police forces by new legislation related to demonstrations and protests, and recent events have shown that those warnings now appear justified.

Even if one makes allowances for the emotional temperature running high in Britain at present, the basic principles of a democratic society should not be put to one side even at a time of national mourning.