The service at Westminster AbbeyA large church in London. Many British kings and queens are buried there. went like clockwork. So did the great parade back to Buckingham Palace. Who could be filled with anything but pride? 

The answer was easy: those who had watched protesters being carried to police vans. The director of Human Rights Watch UK said: "This is something you would expect to see in MoscowThe capital city of Russia. , not London."¹

The people arrested included members of the Just Stop OilA UK environmental activist group which uses direct action to protest against fossil fuel production. and Animal RisingA UK animal rights and climate change activism group. protest groups. The head of Republic, an organisation which opposes the monarchy, was arrested too.  

Called Graham Smith, he was arrested while unloading protest signs from a van. The police told him they suspected him of planning to "lock on". This means causing problems by doing things like chaining yourself to railings.

Smith was held for 16 hours. He claims to have told the police far in advance what Republic planned to do, and been told there would be no problems.

"The right to protest peacefully in the UK no longer exists," he says.

Animal Rising said that some of their members had been arrested "miles away from the coronation". A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said that they had simply planned to display flags and T-shirts.

Caroline Russell, a member of the London Assembly, said that the arrests were deeply worrying. The head of the Liberal DemocratsAlso known as the Lib Dems, a liberal political party in the UK. , Ed Davie, said that they "breached the British tradition of civil libertiesBasic rights and freedoms given to citizens of a country through the law. They include freedom of speech, freedom of movement, and freedom of religious worship. Such rights and freedoms are part of a democratic society and are often denied to those living in a dictatorship.".

But Commander Karen Findlay of the Metropolitan PoliceThe name of London's police force. denied that the force had acted badly. She said that it had only done what was needed. She added that the "context" of such a huge event justified their actions. But last night, police sources appeared to begin to backtrack, with the Metropolitan Police expressing "regret" over the arrests of six protesters.

Even so, Findlay's words raise an important question: who decides which "contexts" make it alright to stop protests? The worry is that future ones might need official permission, which would be a blow to freedom.  

Yes: A healthy democracy can only exist if it permits civilised debate. Whether you agree with protesters' views or not, they must be allowed to express them - otherwise you end up with a dictatorship.

No: The strongest societies are those which give greatest weight to the views of the majority and defend the status quoA Latin phrase referring to the current or present situation.. It was deeply selfish of the protesters to try to spoil the enjoyment of others.

Or... Trying to suppress dissent generally backfires. If the protesters had been left alone they would hardly have been noticed. As it is, they have become the focus of a passionate debate about liberty.