Fury As Met Police Tweets Its Hardline Stance On Coronation Protests: 'It's Giving Dictatorship'

The Met Police just tweeted about how it will tolerate “disruption” – including protests – at the coronation, and everyone is pretty horrified.

More than 1,500 demonstrators are expected to protest King Charles during his royal procession on Saturday, all supposedly dressed in yellow and chanting “not my King”.

Republican activists have said they see the coronation as a chance to upend the UK’s 1,000-year-old monarchy, especially as support in the institution seems to be waning. 

But, the Metropolitan Police already issued a severe warning to anyone who is intending to protest.

In a Twitter thread shared on Wednesday, the force said that Operation Golden Orb (the not-so-secret name of the coronation) is “one of the most significant and largest security operations the Met has led”.

It intends to have “the largest one day mobilisation of officers seen in decades with over 11,500 officers on duty”, and more than 29,000 deployments during the day.

It then added: “Our tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low.

“We will deal robustly with anyone intent on undermining this celebration.”

The rest of the thread then switched in tone, and claimed that local London officers will be “looking after those attending street parties and engaging with local residents”. 

It was this one tweet about protesters that just really stood out for the rest of Twitter, though.

Many were deeply alarmed at just what this could mean, especially as the government is trying to crack down on protests under the Public Order Bill.

This is meant to give “police greater flexibility and clarity” over those supposedly causing “disruption”, according to the government – but critics say it means the police can treat protests like “terrorism”.

The Met Police has also faced a huge backlash in recent years over its own conduct. A review from Baroness Casey in March found that the entire force is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.

So, this latest divisive tweet didn’t exactly land well...