Symon Hill: Charges against King's ceremony heckler dropped

A man who made anti-monarchist comments at a proclamation ceremony for King Charles III has had charges against him dropped.

Symon Hill, 45, of Church Hill Road, Oxford, was charged with using threatening or abusive words or disorderly behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

The incident took place at the ceremony at Carfax Tower in Oxford in September.

Mr Hill said he was now considering taking legal action against the police.

He previously explained how he was leaving a service at New Road Baptist Church in Bonn Square when he got caught up in crowds for the ceremony.

He said he was "sad and angry" at seeing "dignitaries and military leaders standing on the steps of Carfax Tower in clothing more suited to the 16th Century".

While he "remained quiet" during the part of the ceremony concerning the death of the Queen, he called out "who elected him?" when King Charles III was declared the new monarch, as he felt "a head of state was being imposed on us without our consent".

He said was told to "shut up" by some in the crowd, and that officers handcuffed him and put him in a police van before driving him home.

Mr Hill was initially arrested and de-arrested by police, though later charged and scheduled to appear at Oxford Magistrates' Court.

However, in a statement on Twitter on Monday, Mr Hill said the Crown Prosecution Service [CPS] had "reversed the police decision to charge me over my objection to Charles Windsor in Oxford".

A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: "[We] conducted an investigation following an incident at the proclamation of the King at Carfax in Oxford on Sunday 11 September.

"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 31 January 2023.

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

Katy Watts, a lawyer for the Liberty campaign group, said: "We're pleased to hear that the CPS have decided to drop the charges against Symon Hill.

"It is quite obviously not a criminal offence to ask 'who elected him?' of a new monarch."

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