The arrest of anti-monarchy protesters on the day of the Coronation has been labelled “alarming” by human rights groups.

Human rights groups and MPs have criticised the Metropolitan Police over arrests of anti-monarchy group in London on the day of the Coronation.

However, responding to the criticism, Police had said that ” it’s their duty to intervene when protest becomes criminal and may cause serious disruption”. Scotland Yard also respond saying”it had acted in a proportionate manner” siting the situation.Police said the 52 arrests were made for offences including affray, public order offences, breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance around the coronation.

While campaigners insisted their protests were peaceful the police said they had intelligence that groups were “determined to disrupt” the occasion.

Several Labour MPs criticised the Met’s response, with senior backbencher Sir Chris Bryant writing on Twitter that “freedom of speech is the silver thread that runs through a parliamentary constitutional monarchy”.

Shadow minister Jess Philips also used social media to say that “our nation and our King is not so fragile as to not be able to take harmless protest of a different view”.

Labour MP Richard Burgon said he was ”deeply concerned” by the arrests, while MP Zarah Sultana said: “Whatever you think of the monarchy, the right to peaceful protest is fundamental to democracy.”

UK director of Human Rights Watch, Yasmine Ahmed, said “the police action is like something you would expect to see in Moscow, not inLondon”.

Protesters wearing “Not My King” T-shirts were being detained during the coronation.