After 52 arrests, police are rejecting allegations that they were heavy handed at the coronation

Ahead of the coronation, Home Office officials wrote to anti-monarchist campaign groups reminding them that tough new protest laws had come into force.

Below of the controversial new law on public orderprotesters who possess an object with the intention of using it for “lockdown” are fined and those who block roads face 12 months in prison.

In one of the clips of Saturday morning’s arrests, a police officer says: “I’m not going to talk about that – they’re arrested, that’s it.”

Luke Whiting, 26, an activist with the Republic, said: “When the demonstration started on the edge of Trafalgar Square, six members of the Republic were arrested, including the chief executive.

“It’s not clear why, maybe because one of them was carrying a megaphone.

“It is not exactly clear whether the police are using these new powers and whether they are abusing them to prevent protests.”

He said the group had been “very open with the police” about what they were planning and were “surprised” and “shocked” by the police’s actions.

Alastair Campbell, former Labour, described the arrests as “totally at odds with British values” and said they were “unnecessary” and would be “counterproductive”.

Less than an hour after the arrests, the Republic retweeted a video of the protest continuing in Trafalgar Square, with people chanting “Not my King” and the message: “We will not be silenced.”