An anti-monarchist who shouted ‘who elected him’ at the proclamation of King Charles III said he was taking legal advice about whether to sue the police for wrongful arrest.

Symon Hill, 45, spoke out after prosecutors dropped an allegation that he had behaved in a ‘disorderly’ manner at the event in Carfax on September 11 last year.

At the time, the Cowley man told the Oxford Mail he was on his way back from New Road Baptist Church in Bonn Square when he came upon the event, which marked the formal announcement of Charles III’s accession to the throne.

Although he had not gone to protest against royalty, as the High Sheriff read the proclamation Mr Hill said words to the effect of ‘who elected him’, he said.

Two people in the crowd told him to ‘shut up’ before a number of security guards ‘pushed’ him and he was ‘dragged off’ to a police van and arrested, he said. He was de-arrested then, later, invited to a voluntary interview and received a letter last month charging him with the public order offence.

At Oxford Magistrates’ Court yesterday (January 9) it was confirmed that the Crown Prosecution Service had made a decision to discontinue the case.

Mr Hill said on Monday night: “Obviously, I’m very pleased." 

He added: “I think there are questions for the police about why they arrested me, about why they interviewed me and also about why they charged me.

“The fact that the CPS clearly thought there was no prospect of a conviction only adds to those questions.

“I always said it seemed I’d been arrested for expressing an opinion in the street; because I hadn’t used any threatening or abusive words or behaviour, which is what I was accused of.

“I think a lot of people in Oxford will want to know why [the police] were wasting their time prosecuting someone for expressing an opinion when they could have been tackling real crime.”

Mr Hill, whose arrest sparked widespread interest last year, said he was now taking legal advice about whether to bring a claim against Thames Valley Police for unlawful or wrongful arrest.

The Oxford man’s arrest was one of a number linked to royal events last Autumn. In Edinburgh, a woman was charged for breaching the peace after she allegedly held up a sign calling for the Crown’s abolition. 

In response to the arrests, the National Police Chiefs’ Council reportedly issued guidance to police forces reminding officers that the right to protest was a ‘fundamental part of democracy’.

Welcoming the decision to drop the case, lawyer at human rights campaign group Liberty, Katy Watts, who had been assisting Mr Hill said: “It is quite obviously not a criminal offence to ask ‘who elected him’ of a new monarch. Being able to choose what, how, and when we protest is a crucial part of a healthy and functioning democracy.

“It’s vital that we can all stand up for what we believe in without facing the risk of criminalisation.”

She claimed police forces had recently been seen enforcing powers in ‘heavy-handed and punitive ways to clamp down on free speech’, ‘enabled and encouraged’ by the government.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “We have a duty to keep all cases under review and after a further assessment we concluded this case did not meet our legal test for a prosecution.”

The CPS has not yet said whether it dropped the case on grounds of lack of evidence or public interest.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said last night: “An investigation was conducted and the matter was referred to the CPS for a charging decision. A charge was authorised by the CPS and a court hearing was scheduled for January 31.

“As part of its duty to keep cases under review the CPS has now decided to discontinue the matter.”

Read more from this author

This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward