Campaigners have condemned a police decision to charge Symon Hill with a breach of the Public Order Act for doing nothing but calling out "who elected him?" at an accession event in Oxford.

Republic, which is planning protests leading up to and on the day of the coronation, will be writing to all police forces in the country, demanding they respect the freedom to dissent and protest.

Graham Smith, speaking for Republic, said today:

"This is a grave situation, where someone cannot even shout a simple message of opposition at a public event marking the accession of our head of state."

"This is the kind of thing you might expect in Putin's Russia, where dissent against the head of state is stamped out. To see this in the UK is shocking."

"We will be doing everything in our power to defend the right to oppose and protest against the monarchy, the King and the coronation."