Some of the arrests were made on the basis of ‘lock-on devices’ under the Public Order Act 2023, which received royal assent four days prior to the coronation.
Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, defending the actions, said his officers were targeting ‘those we believed were intent on causing serious disruption and criminality’.
Human Rights group Liberty called on Twitter for ‘any future government that values freedom of expression’ to ‘repeal this repressive legislation as soon as they can’.