Nine women arrested over an alleged plan to disrupt King Charles's coronation in 2023 have spoken out as they prepare to take legal action against the Metropolitan Police. The women, aged between 20 and 64, were attending a non-violent workshop run by Animal Rising about five miles from the coronation in May that year. The animal rights campaigners were using the same building as Just Stop Oil.
Arrest and Detention
The Met accused them of planning to protest at the coronation and arrested the women. They claim this was not their plan, and instead they were simply attending the animal rights workshop that had been advertised for weeks before. The women said around “15 to 20 mainly male officers” suggested they were part of Just Stop Oil before being subject to full body searches and detained for as long as 14 hours after being arrested for conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.
Represented at the High Court by law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, the women were made up of a group of students, medical professionals and teachers, who say they had no plans to disrupt the coronation. The Met Police denies any wrongdoing and is defending the claim.
Workshop Trainer Speaks Out
Course trainer Louise Hillwood said the workshop was “ironically” about “how to interact positively with the police” and had been advertised online for weeks. As reported by PA, she said: “They searched all of our belongings and led us outside, handcuffed.
“It was humiliating to be escorted like that into the back of a police van, where we spent many hours outside a station before we were taken in for questioning.
“Most of the women had not interacted with the police in this way before, let alone been arrested, so I felt a heavy responsibility to try to reassure everyone and help them understand their rights.”
Legal Challenge
Ms Hillwood has since launched a CrowdJustice page to raise funds for the legal challenge, which is over the Met Police’s assertion that they had intelligence suggesting they were part of Just Stop Oil. Lawyers for the group said there was “no intelligence linking the women or Animal Rising to Just Stop Oil”.
The women all remained under police investigation until the end of August 2023. They were then handed back their phones and told there was insufficient evidence for further action. Susie Labinjoh, head of civil liberties at Hodge Jones & Allen, said that the “unlawful arrest” has resulted in some of the women having panic attacks, depression, anxiety and paranoia, ever since.
The Express has contacted the Met for comment.
