ANTI-monarchy protesters who were arrested at the coronation last year will be gathering to protest the anniversary of their detention next week.

Campaign group Republic is staging a rally at Trafalgar Square on May 5 to mark the first anniversary of the detention of the protestors.

All eight activists, five Republic staff, and three volunteers, who were arrested last year by the Metropolitan Police, will be at the rally to give speeches.

There will also be music and art.

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On the morning of the coronation, six members of the Republic team were arrested for the offence of carrying an object with an attempt to lock themselves to an object or another person.

A further two activists were arrested later in the day.

The day after the coronation Republic's CEO, Graham Smith, said: "These arrests are a direct attack on our democracy and the fundamental rights of every person in the country.

“Each and every police officer involved on the ground should hang their heads in shame."

All eight of those who were arrested were later told no further action would be taken by Met officers. Legal action against the Met police is still ongoing.

Ahead of the rally in May, Smith has said the arrests of the protesters still carry a “considerable” personal impact and that support for Republic is only getting stronger.

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He said: "Republic Day marks a moment that changed the anti-monarchy movement.

“It will also be an opportunity to showcase the positive vision for the country.

"The coronation was an expensive waste of time, a vanity parade for our head of state.

“At an estimated cost of £250 million it served no purpose but to entertain a minority of people.

"Support for the monarchy is falling, as low as 45% in some polls.

“Since the coronation Republic has grown stronger and louder.”

Republic is a membership-based pressure group who campaign for the abolition of the monarchy and its replacement with a directly elected head of state.

The group has no political affiliation and has members across the political spectrum, with the support of more than 130,000 republicans.

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Smith added: “As promised after the arrests, we have continued to protest - at the Edinburgh coronation, the State Opening of Parliament, even inside Buckingham Palace.

"The personal impact of the arrests on those involved has been considerable.

“We are still waiting to hear a full apology and acknowledgment from the Met that they got it wrong, that they had no grounds to arrest any of us.

"We will be on Trafalgar Square for Republic Day on May 5, partly to celebrate the growing movement, partly to send a clear signal that we will not be deterred, we will continue to campaign for a better, fairer democracy."