To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has requested a report from the Metropolitan Police on the circumstances surrounding the arrest of a journalist during the Coronation on 6 May 2023.
Answered on
18 May 2023
I refer the honourable member to my statement on 9 May. The Coronation was a resounding success and that is in no small part due to the dedication of thousands of officers who were part of what was one of the largest ever policing operations.
The Metropolitan Police deployed more than 11,500 officers working on 6 May, including individuals on mutual aid from other forces. The breakdown of mutual aid from each force is an operational matter for the police.
The Metropolitan Police Service is accountable to the Mayor of London. The police are also operationally independent and matters of briefing of officers and decisions on arrest are for them. It would not be appropriate for me to comment in detail about individual cases or the specific decisions taken.
The Metropolitan Police published a statement on 7 May 2023 detailing the 64 arrests that were made during the Coronation operation and Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley published a statement on 9 May 2023 regarding the Coronation Policing operation.