'It massively backfired' Republican activists gain support after arrests

Graham Smith had just hung up on Jeremy Vine's BBC Two radio show. "He was sort of suggesting we have this nice little debate about whether or not someone should be locked up for 16 hours so people can wave their flags," said Smith, 49, looking a little coy as he settled down on his front-room sofa, stepping over an unfinished thousand-piece jigsaw. "It was really partly down to me being quite tired and starting to get antsy."

- Daniel Boffey

It has been quite a few days for the normally mild-mannered and longstanding chief executive of Republic, the country's leading anti-monarchist organisation, a somewhat lonesome voice since it was formed in 1983.

Despite the car-crash quality of Prince Harry's sulk from a middlestatus row behind Princess Anne's feathered hat or the introduction to the coronation of that dress by Penny Mordaunt, the sword-wielding leader of the Commons,  the standout story of the crowning of King Charles III on Saturday continues to be the arrest hours before the event at Westminster Abbey of Smith and the five other organisers of the main Republican protest.

Their revolutionary cause might not be wholly shared by the British public, yet a sense of an offence against fair play has been widely felt after the arrests, with former chief constables among those voicing their unease. The Met police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, described them as "unfortunate" yesterday.

Smith and the others were arrested for conspiracy to cause a public nuisance but were all released without charge. On Monday evening a Met chief inspector, sergeant and police constable arrived on the doorstep of Smith's terrace home to give him back his phone. "The chief inspector looked quite unsure of himself," Smith said. "He did apologise. I don't think he was supposed to."