People are being arrested for holding up anti-monarchy signs
People have been arrested for holding up signs reading "Not My King' and "f*ck imperialism", whilst another man was cautioned for holding a blank piece of paper.
A number of UK anti-royalists have been arrested in recent days as the police have been seen to crack down on protests following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
As King Charles III begins his royal duties as the new monarch, a number of people have been arrested up and down the country for holding up signs or shouting comments critical of the British monarchy.
Over the past few days, several young people have been arrested in Edinburgh, Scotland, where the Queen’s coffin had been lying in rest at St Giles cathedral before she is moved to Westminster Hall in central London.
Arrests have also been made at the opposite end of the country, with footage showing police leading away a protester outside Downing Street in London for holding up a sign that read “Not My King”.
Meanwhile, in Oxford a man was arrested on Sunday for shouting “who elected him?” while walking past a royal event where King Charles III was being ushered in as king during a county proclamation ceremony.
ADVERTISEMENT
Symon Hill, 45, said of the incident: “Contrary to some claims on social media, I did not say *anything* remotely disrespectful today about Elizabeth’s death. I did not disrupt an act of mourning (and never would). My objection was to the proclamation of Charles Windsor as king.”
After his outburst he was led away by police, handcuffed and put in the back of the van. According to Thames Valley Police he was later de-arrested and is now being investigated for a “public order offense.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Speaking on what happened after the incident, he wrote: “I doubt most of the people in the crowd even heard me. Two or three people near me told me to shut up.
“I didn’t insult them or attack them personally, but responded by saying that a head of state was being imposed on us without our consent.”
Elsewhere, footage emerged on Monday of a man being dragged to the floor by mourners after heckling Prince Andrew as the Queen’s coffin was escorted through Edinburgh.
ADVERTISEMENT
After calling the late Monarch’s youngest son a “sick old man”, the 22 year old man can be seen crashing to the floor before being picked up by a police officer and led away as a chant of “God save the King” is quickly started up in the crowd.
Police later said that the man was later arrested for committing a ‘breach of the peace’.
Another video was shared on social media on Monday showing an anti-royalist being cautioned by a police officer for holding up a blank piece of paper.
As well as tweeting about the experience, Paul Powlesland, 36, filmed the officer asking for his details and saying that he needs to “check and make sure you can be here.”
Paul, a barrister and nature rights activist, says to the officer “I was holding up a blank sign, why are you asking for my details?”
ADVERTISEMENT
The officer replied, “Because you said you were going to write stuff on it, that might offend people about the King”
According to the legal index In Brief, a breach of the peace is used to prevent “unlawful violence against people or property”
The site says that “an arrest for an anticipated breach of the peace will only be lawful if the threat of the breach is imminent”,
Graham Smith, from the pressure group Republic, said: “This is absolutely the time to talk about the future of the monarchy because we have a new monarch. Charles has become King without consent, without discussion or debate. It has just happened automatically and there is no effort to have a serious debate about that, and that is completely wrong.
“The arrests of protesters over the past 24 hours have been absolutely appalling. The police should be ashamed of themselves.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Richard Burgon, Labour MP for Leeds East, said: “I’m deeply concerned by reports that people are being arrested for expressing their views in support of a Republic.
“In a democracy, people must always have the right to peacefully express their opinions. I will be seeking to raise this in Parliament when it resumes next week.”
Feature image – UK Fact Check Politics
News
Marcus Rashford pays heartwarming surprise visit to Manchester school
Danny Jones
Manchester United star Marcus Rashford is backing warming hearts and bringing smiles to young faces once again after he paid a surprise visit to a local school.
The Man United forward and England international emerged as a national hero during the lockdown through his support for the free school meals campaign, even earning an MBE for his services to charity, and has continued to offer his services outside of football ever since.
Club members regularly engage in community outreach through official United Foundation events, but this time Rashford decided to team up with fellow non-profit Football Beyond Borders (FBB) – an education and social inclusion charity he’s worked with for some time – to make some kids very happy.
During a recent session at The Barlow RC High School in Didsbury, children in the classroom were caught off-guard when the 27-year-old footballer popped his head around the door and came to sit in on a session. Here’s their reaction.
Just look at their faces – we’ll never get over the wide-eyed stares clips like produce. The week in and week out of actual game day aside, this is what football’s all about.
Although one particular pupil had sniffed a surprise in their midst, excitedly repeating, “I told you, what did I say?!”, it’s fair to say that the entire room was still stunned to see the United number 10 just casually walk into the room.
We especially like the moment when Rashford sits down next to one of the unsuspecting students and can’t stop double-taking to his friend, all the while grinning his head off – well, him and everyone else in attendance at the school for the surprise visit, adults included.
Taking place before this past weekend’s Premier League fixtures, the Wythenshawe winger then proceeds to join the aspiring young players out on the school pitch along with the other FBB ambassadors, who recently celebrated 10 years of vital work,
Naturally, the responses underneath videos have been as equally wholesome as you would expect; one person commented, “Forget the football, Marcus Rashford is a top, top man. Nothing but respect”, while another said, “I respect the leadership and the guy really cares. Rare…”
A third went on to write: “A very grounded footballer. Remembers and knows what it’s like to be at the bottom and work your way up. Has done more for people in this country than people running this country! Respect.”
While his performances may not have been their best, both in his eyes and that of the fans at this present moment, many more simply went on to add that it “was nice to see him smiling” and when you’re doing important and inspiring work like this in your hometown, you can only admire and applaud.
As is the nature of the beautiful game, the goals will no doubt start flowing again eventually but in the meantime, well done to Rashford for continuing to be a legend on and off the pitch.
Chester Zoo opens new ‘cutting-edge’ science centre to help fight global extinction crisis
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo has opened a new science centre which is set to play a “significant role” in the conservation of the world’s most-threatened species.
The new cutting-edge facility, formally named the International Centre for Zoo Science, will enable researchers to study some of species most at-threat across the globe, as well as support conservationists and scientists to fight the ongoing global extinction crisis.
The specialised centre is equipped with state-of-the-art technology to assess the health of plants and animals, Chester Zoo has revealed.
Inside is a demonstration lab to help train future conservationists, as well as a special cryo-conservation unit where genetics from endangered species will be preserved in liquid nitrogen at -196°C, and the new facility also houses Europe’s largest dedicated wildlife endocrinology lab, giving scientists the chance to study and track hormone levels in animals to further understand their reproductive biology.
In case you didn’t know, Chester Zoo is already at the forefront of vital research to protect a wide range of different species from extinction, with it being home to 37,000 animals from more than 500 species – but this new centre will take things one step further.
Scientists at the UK’s biggest charity zoo say the new centre – which is triple the size of the zoo’s previous lab facilities – will enable them to attempt to “unlock the secrets” of different species which have, so far, remained “unstudied” and a therefore a “mystery to science”.
It will also help the zoo significantly expand its scientific capacity, and boost its conservation training programme.
“Our new International Centre for Zoo Science will help us to play an even more significant role in the conservation of some of the world’s most endangered species,” explained Dr Sue Walker, who is the Head of Science at Chester Zoo.
“At a time when species face extinction on an unimaginable scale, we’re already making a substantial contribution to the task of preventing extinction and restoring biodiversity… and now our new science centre will enable us to grow our research, not only in wildlife reproduction, but also in terms of innovating within our other areas of expertise.”
Dr Walker added that this will also be the first time the Zoo is able to accommodate training courses for visiting researchers from all over the world.