Aussie ‘locked up’ during coronation sparks police probe

An Australian woman has spoken of her ‘13-hour lockup’ after being arrested during the coronation of King Charles III.

Australian woman Alice Chambers says she was arrested at the coronation of King Charles and languished behind bars for 13 hours over a case of mistaken identity.

The 36-year-old architect, who has been living in London for seven years, told the UK’s iPaper in an interview that she was handcuffed in The Mall, along with a group of Just Stop Oil protesters, on suspicion of “potential to cause a breach the peace.

“I was just sitting on my little stool and I noticed there was some yelling and then some police swooped in and were pushing the crowd back,” she told iNews.co.uk.

The arrest of ex-pat Australian woman Alice Chambers, who has lived in London for years, was captured by Sky News. Picture: Supplied

“I must have been right on the edge of that, I went to get up and two police officers just grabbed me and handcuffed me. I don’t think they said anything, I think they arrested me before they asked a question.”

The arrest was captured on a Sky News broadcast, where Ms Chambers can be seen amid the fray of Metropolitan Police officers busting through the crowd.

Ms Chambers said she was held for a 13-hour ordeal, during which she was held in a cell, questioned, fingerprinted and had her mugshot taken before being considered a bystander and released. She has lodged a complaint to the police watchdog.

“I feel like once I was in the system they didn’t listen, I tried to explain that I wasn’t part of the group,” Ms Chambers told the outlet.

“I think the only question they asked me was, ‘Why were you on The Mall?’” She added.

“I explained the whole thing, how I went down there at 7am to get a good spot, how I went one way and it was blocked and I ended up walking back to where there seemed to be some space.”

The royal watcher, pictured here at a garden party, travelled to London early to watch the King’s coronation. Picture: Supplied

She has lodged a complaint with the police watchdog. Picture: Supplied

That spot happened to be next to the protesters from Just Stop Oil, a group that has disrupted major events in the UK over the past year.

Ms Chambers said it wasn’t until 7pm the night of the Coronation that she was asked by two senior police officers if she’d ever heard of “Just Stop Oil”. After responding she’d never heard of them before that day, she says they had no other questions and apologised that she got caught up among the group of protesters.

“That was the point I started crying and got emotional — that was the first time anyone had been able to listen to my side of the story,” she said.

A spokesman for the Met Police responded to the report saying they were “aware” a woman was arrested amid the protest, adding that the complaint has been passed on to the Lincolnshire Police, where the arresting officer was from, to investigate.

“The Met will assist by providing any relevant information they require,” the Met Police statement said.