Overview

• Symon Hill, a trainee Baptist minister, was arrested in September 2022 after shouting 'Who elected him?' during a proclamation ceremony for King Charles III in Oxford.
• Thames Valley Police acknowledged the arrest was unlawful and agreed to pay Hill £2,500 in compensation following a legal challenge supported by the human rights group Liberty.
• Hill was initially charged under the Public Order Act, but the charges were dropped in January 2023 due to insufficient evidence.
• The incident has raised concerns about the impact of broad anti-protest laws on freedom of expression and the right to dissent in public spaces.
• Police pledged to use the case as a learning opportunity to improve their handling of public order and safety operations in the future.