'Six arrests made' as protesters gather in London ahead of King Charles III's Coronation

A leading republican is reportedly one of six anti-monarchy protesters arrested in London this morning ahead of King Charles III's Coronation. Footage circulating on social media appears to show officers targeting demonstrators with 'Not My King' T-shirts and placards.

Anti-monarchy group Republic says six of its members have been arrested near to Trafalgar Square today (May 6). The group says its chief executive, Graham Smith, is one of those to have been arrested.

It comes after the Metropolitan Police said it would have an 'extremely low threshold' for protest during the Coronation celebrations, in a statement issued on Wednesday. Footage on Twitter appears to show Mr Smith being apprehended by police on St Martin’s Lane, while images show demonstrators in yellow 'Not My King' T-shirts having their details taken by officers.

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In one video, an officer says: “I’m not going to get into a conversation about that - they are under arrest, end of.” The Met has warned demonstrators can expect 'swift action' this weekend.

Following the apparent arrests, Republic activist Luke Whiting, 26, told the PA news agency: “Six Republic members have been arrested including the CEO as the demonstration was starting at the edge of Trafalgar Square. It is unclear why, potentially it is because one of them was carrying a megaphone."

One woman in a Republic T-shirt who was arrested told PA: “We had a delivery of placards ready for the protest and then the tactical support unit questioned us as to how we we had got through the road closures.

“They questioned whether what we were doing was a delivery. They then said they found evidence of means of locking on, of items that