Republic leader talks of 'traumatic' Coronation arrest

The chief executive of Republic has spoken of the "traumatic experience" of being arrested while protesting on the morning of the King's Coronation, saying that members of his anti-monarchy group "never had any intention" of breaking the law. Graham Smith told MPs on the Commons Home Affairs Committee that he had liaised with the Metropolitan Police in the run up to demonstration, adding that officers "did not have a single concern" about what Republic had planned.