A CONSTABULARY has admitted to the unlawful arrest of a pacifist, detained under broad anti-protest laws after shouting “who elected him?” during a proclamation ceremony for the King.

Symon Hill, the former co-ordinator for the Peace Pledge Union, was walking home from church in September 2022 when he came across the event.

After posing his question, security officers initially asked him not to express his opinion in a public space, with Thames Valley Police arresting him soon after.

Body-worn footage later revealed officers discussing concerns about potential complaints, but proceeding with the arrest.

The force has now accepted that his arrest was unlawful and paid £2,500 in compensation following a challenge with the help of human rights group Liberty.

Mr Hill said it has taken the police two and a half years to recognise that expressing an opinion in the street is not a crime.

“Opposing the monarchy is not a crime,” he said. “I’m very conscious that most people who are wrongly arrested are not able to take legal action.

“I have been able to do this only because of the support of Liberty.

“This is not just about me. It never has been.

“It is about the rights of all people to dissent, to express their views, to refuse to bow down, to assert the dignity and equality of all human beings.

“With the vague anti-protest laws as they are, anybody could face arrest for expressing an opinion in a public space.”

Mr Hill said the law “must be changed and the police must be held to account.”

Katy Watts, a lawyer at Liberty, said Mr Hill’s wrongful arrest “shows how broad anti-protest laws are shutting down people’s freedom of expression.”

“As even more protest-based criminal offences are being introduced, we need this government to take a step back and look at the complex web of anti-protest laws and how it is being used,” she said.

“We must urgently see a review of the broad anti-protest legislation to ensure that what happened to Mr Hill cannot be allowed to happen again.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “The right to protest is fundamental to our democracy, and it is a long-standing tradition in this country that people are free to demonstrate their views, provided that they do so within the law.”