Militant eco groups plot to ruin Coronation throwing paint over King
Militant eco groups plot to ruin Coronation, as intelligence reveals plan to throw green paint over King Charles
- Investigation has exposed Animal Rebellion members plan to target Coronation
Eco-activists from two militant campaign groups are plotting to disrupt the King’s Coronation, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
An undercover investigation has exposed vegan extremists at Animal Rebellion who are planning to target next month’s Coronation as part of a summer of chaos.
Separately, a Government source last night warned of alarming intelligence that a second plot is being hatched by activists at the larger Extinction Rebellion group.
It is believed to involve hurling green paint at King Charles III and the Coronation procession.
Police and security agencies are understood to have held a series of meetings in recent weeks in a bid to thwart demonstrators.
An undercover investigation has exposed vegan extremists at Animal Rebellion who are planning to target next month’s Coronation as part of a summer of chaos. Pictured: Activists are detained after they jump in front of the Trooping Colour Parade last year
‘We’re assessing all contingencies and we are aware that environmental protesters are seeking to disrupt the King’s Coronation,’ a Government source told the MoS.
‘We will ensure that all necessary measures are taken to stop their disreputable action.’
The threat posed to the historic event – which will be watched by TV viewers around the world – comes after the MoS last week exposed a plot by more than 100 Animal Rebellion activists, who claim horse racing is ‘animal abuse’, to sabotage the Grand National next weekend.
An undercover reporter secretly filmed activists as they explained how they would use ladders and boltcutters to storm security fences before the race at Aintree, in Liverpool, then glue themselves together and sit on the course.
But during the training day in East London, senior activist Rose Patterson also revealed the Grand National was just the first of a series of events, including the Coronation, that the group will target.
She said: ‘There are some other big cultural events throughout the summer that basically we’re going to be disrupting’, adding: ‘I think the Coronation as well.’
The group has a track record of targeting the Royals. At last year’s Trooping the Colour – held during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations – at least eight activists ran into the path of the Massed Bands of the Household Division.
Animal Rebellion ringleaders have vowed to press ahead with their bid to derail the Grand National – despite the MoS passing its evidence of their conspiracy to Merseyside Police Pictured: Animal Rebellion training session in March
Government sources believe fanatics at Extinction Rebellion – a much larger group notorious for closing major roads – have also drawn up ‘sophisticated’ plans to disrupt the Coronation weekend on May 6, 7 and 8.
It is believed details of the plot were leaked to the authorities by a whistleblower within the group. The protesters are understood to be planning to target Royals directly in a bid to grab global headlines. This comes despite Extinction Rebellion’s promise to end its disruptive demonstrations.
Organisers of the Coronation are planning a series of processions through Central London involving members of the Royal Family on the Saturday.
This will be followed by a ‘big lunch’ and concert at Windsor Castle on the Sunday, and a day of volunteering events on the bank holiday Monday. John O’Connor, a former Metropolitan Police commander, last night said police face an ‘impossible’ task.
‘To know that it is going to happen and to know where it is going to happen are two different things. I think they have got a big problem on their hands,’ he added.
Police officers remove people who ran into the path of the royal procession on The Mall, London, in June last year
Dai Davies, a former head of Royal protection for Scotland Yard, last night urged the Met to target the ringleaders of the plots before the Coronation. ‘We’ve got to look at legislation to see if there are any preventative strategies that we could do to take some of the leaders out, if there is evidence,’ he said.
Meanwhile, defiant Animal Rebellion ringleaders have vowed to press ahead with their bid to derail the Grand National – despite the MoS passing its evidence of their conspiracy to Merseyside Police.
The group held a Zoom meeting last Wednesday, with activists urged to protest outside Aintree from 9.30am on Saturday.
One of the ringleaders, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said activists would be ‘attempting to come between them [horses] and harm on the track’.
In a tweet on Friday, the group said it is ‘going to cancel the Grand National’.
Merseyside Police last night said it would respond ‘robustly’ to any disorder at the course.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘People can be confident the Met has in place a proportionate policing plan for the Coronation.’
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