Crowns, cuffs & loudhailers

Note: The transcript hsa been produced using an AI tool. Transcription may not be 100% accurate.

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:00:13.489 - 00:00:42.299 

 So welcome viewers and listeners to our latest podcast July is upon us I I think the folk in Parliament are getting ready to get one arm in their coat I think they've got till the 20th of July But um until that comes we will still be here bringing you all sorts of cutting edge insight And uh we are we We're doing something a little bit green this week in recycling a guest from a couple of weeks ago See what I've done there Um welcome Elliot

Elliott Lee:

00:00:42.93 - 00:00:45.22 

 Thank you Thanks guys for having me

Simon Sansbury:

00:00:46.09 - 00:00:47.229 

 You're welcome Thanks for joining

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:00:47.24 - 00:00:53.56 

 us So Simon you came up with a catchy title for this week's episode which I think raised the odd eyebrow

Simon Sansbury:

00:00:54.74 - 00:01:04.139 

 Um well II I don't have any data on the impact on people's eyebrows Um but um yeah this this week's episode is um is

Simon Sansbury:

00:01:05.05 - 00:01:15.459 

 logically titled um is logically titled Crowns Cuffs and loudhailers Um and the reason for that um Elliott will explain in a in a second

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:01:16.23 - 00:01:32.959 

 indeed So welcome Elliott Would you like to introduce yourself for um for folk Hoover who've not heard you on the podcast before And uh can you tell us the uh the the the lead up to your day out in London and um the kind of first bit of what happened

Elliott Lee:

00:01:32.97 - 00:01:38.319 

 next Yeah sure Um so Yeah I'm Elliot I use he they pronouns

Elliott Lee:

00:01:38.8 - 00:01:47.36 

 Um I am active in Portsmouth politics I uh part of the green party I stood in local elections

Elliott Lee:

00:01:48.029 - 00:01:53.66 

 Um I get involved in all kinds of protests and campaigns Um

Elliott Lee:

00:01:54.36 - 00:01:58.059 

 so that's kind of me in general Um

Elliott Lee:

00:01:59.55 - 00:02:01.33 

 and so Yeah So I

Elliott Lee:

00:02:02.29 - 00:02:13.27 

 I attended the may 6th uh coronation as a protester Uh the lead up to this actually starts a couple of days before Um because I

Elliott Lee:

00:02:14.0 - 00:02:21.41 

 uh it was quite a long weekend for me I stood in the elections that Thursday Um so I was quite up quite late

Elliott Lee:

00:02:22.039 - 00:02:23.83 

 Um as you can imagine Um

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:02:23.839 - 00:02:44.0 

 we were We were We were there till till I think we were the last people to leave and they'd almost turned the lights out So I think most people were there till the wee small hours And it was I think we were around 3 a.m. So you've had you've had a good night out on the uh on the Thursday night even though perhaps the result didn't go for you Um but uh

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:02:44.3 - 00:02:49.44 

 so you lay in hopefully a lay in Friday and then talk us through your Saturday Well

Elliott Lee:

00:02:49.449 - 00:02:58.77 

 well and I was work Did Did a 12 hour shift that Friday So by the by the Saturday I was quite knackered as you can imagine Um

Elliott Lee:

00:02:59.44 - 00:03:06.779 

 despite that I got up at about 4 a.m. for a train So I got uh into London about four About seven

Elliott Lee:

00:03:07.309 - 00:03:08.059 

 Um

Elliott Lee:

00:03:08.649 - 00:03:12.66 

 made my way there with a small group of people Um

Elliott Lee:

00:03:13.449 - 00:03:33.009 

 um I mean we I met up with like a satellite group of the larger protest that was taking place in Trafalgar Square Um our little satellite group um that we had prearranged with um the large larger organisation called Republic Um

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:03:33.669 - 00:03:51.36 

 So just to be clear Elliott because obviously we know your story and people don't so so III I don't like to LA I guess you would describe yourself as a possibly as a a republican but not in the political sense And And I guess the position of you and your group I I is

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:03:51.649 - 00:03:55.75 

 shall we say not favourable towards the ongoing nature of the monarchy

Elliott Lee:

00:03:55.869 - 00:04:03.94 

 Correct So So um our kind of campaign is against the idea that we have an unelected head of state that we have a

Elliott Lee:

00:04:04.46 - 00:04:05.86 

 um um

Elliott Lee:

00:04:06.479 - 00:04:18.25 

 uh a parliamentary monarchy that that's what our group is against And we of course fight for a republic Hence being called a Republican

Elliott Lee:

00:04:18.91 - 00:04:19.22 

 Yeah

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:04:20.079 - 00:04:38.549 

 yeah No And I think it's important to kick that about because I I think the the event Uh most people when they hear Republican think American Republican And I'm not sure the intersection of American Republican and Green Candidate is is particularly is particularly strong So I think it's important we make the distinction So

Simon Sansbury:

00:04:38.69 - 00:04:43.35 

 So a green candidate also means something else in America as well It means an independent candidate

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:04:43.75 - 00:04:55.869 

 How does it Oh good Lord It's an absolute minefield So So you're in London Um you met up with uh with with some of your your fellow members talk us through what happened there Yes

Elliott Lee:

00:04:55.88 - 00:05:10.119 

 So um turn up in London I took a I made myself a nice big placard saying um not like it um no saying who voted for him with a nice little like cross in a a pit box

Elliott Lee:

00:05:10.429 - 00:05:37.679 

 Um I made a nice little placard Um once we got to the little group um I picked up a a megaphone in a duffel bag Um and I just kind of took responsibility of that Um it was it belonged to Republic But you know I picked up and was like Yeah that's fine Whatever Um we have the intention of course to use it at some point because you know that's what you do in protests Um so yeah we We went into the crowd a bit We were around the mall Um

Elliott Lee:

00:05:38.489 - 00:06:02.779 

 uh Saint James's Park that area Um so we were just kind of you know holding up our placard for a bit Um weren't even chanting at this point We just kind of holding up a card Um we had some good banter We have some of the people around us Um we had some good really good conversations actually because um we were stood around some a lot of Australians who um

Elliott Lee:

00:06:03.41 - 00:06:16.5 

 historically aren't always in favour of the money Um the these Australians would just kind of there to see you know a bit of history Which fair enough I don't blame them Um

Elliott Lee:

00:06:17.059 - 00:06:21.239 

 so yeah we also had some a bit of grief from other people as you can imagine

Elliott Lee:

00:06:21.91 - 00:06:25.049 

 Um it got to a point where actually

Elliott Lee:

00:06:26.1 - 00:06:30.54 

 that there was a lot of anger coming towards us and we just didn't want to um

Elliott Lee:

00:06:31.42 - 00:06:38.989 

 we we just kind of decided you know it wasn't worth engaging in that um we don't want to be ruined in anyone's day

Elliott Lee:

00:06:40.239 - 00:06:56.019 

 Um it was very important to us that you know the only thing we're here to do is protest You know the the fact that we have an elected unelected head of state and you know on this particular day they are being in a sense inaugurated without an election

Elliott Lee:

00:06:56.649 - 00:07:02.059 

 Um so at this point we kind of stood back a bit We went to the back uh kind of back of the crowd

Elliott Lee:

00:07:02.73 - 00:07:03.579 

 Um

Elliott Lee:

00:07:04.29 - 00:07:33.2 

 and we are having a good time at this point because we had more space We were able to hold up our signs a bit easier Um as you can imagine it was very packed so it was really nice to get a bit of bit of fresh air Well um we also had some really good media attention Um I ended up speaking to um the national I think um and a couple of other reporters who were filming me and all that So yeah we had some really good attention Um and so as I was talking to one of these reporters

Elliott Lee:

00:07:33.92 - 00:07:58.22 

 um I could see like out the corner of my eye like a group of like police officers slowly coming towards us And um as I was doing the interview they were going round and just taking each of the protesters to the side and just kind of chatting with them And then I could see they were starting to search them And then all of a sudden there was a police officer kind of right there next to me as I was chatting to her reporter

Elliott Lee:

00:07:58.649 - 00:08:16.559 

 Um and so once the interview ended the officer kind of took me to the side Um and about three of them started to search me Um and the grounds for the search was that I was wearing a yellow T shirt Exact Same as I'm wearing today

Elliott Lee:

00:08:17.57 - 00:08:25.989 

 Um and I was I was part of the the pub this protest group Um and this these search panels I believe came in

Elliott Lee:

00:08:26.54 - 00:08:30.91 

 were under the um protest laws that came in

Elliott Lee:

00:08:31.489 - 00:08:37.84 

 uh two or three days beforehand So um quite new powers that were used to search me

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:08:38.468 - 00:08:47.499 

 So is there significance in the yellow t-shirt Obviously I'm thinking in France Um so is that the connection

Elliott Lee:

00:08:47.818 - 00:08:54.469 

 Yeah so So we we use the the yellow as a symbol of um antimony Um

Elliott Lee:

00:08:55.159 - 00:09:07.38 

 yeah I It's as simple as that We we use it as a as a symbol of you know not my king We don't believe in in this idea It's kind of a X So opposed to the the red or the monarchy I suppose

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:09:07.95 - 00:09:12.45 

 Right So So there are no connections with the the French Um

Elliott Lee:

00:09:13.039 - 00:09:19.75 

 not off the top of my head but IIII I would be curious in finding out the exact kind of questions I might have to ask about that

Elliott Lee:

00:09:20.34 - 00:09:20.69 

 Um

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:09:21.549 - 00:09:24.159 

 So you've got three officers searching you Yes

Elliott Lee:

00:09:24.32 - 00:09:33.409 

 Yeah Um so they go kind of slowly go through all my stuff They they have They have a good look at my like placard like wondering what it actually means I'm like

Elliott Lee:

00:09:34.409 - 00:09:45.09 

 speaks for itself Um they have a search through my bum bag which I took with me Um and then they get to my duffel bag They open it up they find the megaphone

Elliott Lee:

00:09:45.609 - 00:09:49.9 

 um they see it and they ask me Ok what are you going to use this for

Elliott Lee:

00:09:50.909 - 00:10:01.25 

 I was pretty straight up Um you know I was just like you know what you normally protest with like for um you know we're gonna chat We're gonna

Elliott Lee:

00:10:02.46 - 00:10:23.65 

 you know say speak our message Um you know as you would at any protest any protest you do in Portsmouth Um across the country You know um so you know officer stands up They kind of you know grins at each other like you know What do we do now Um

Elliott Lee:

00:10:24.9 - 00:10:26.69 

 then um

Elliott Lee:

00:10:27.27 - 00:10:34.539 

 they you know one of them goes to speak over to speak to a senior officer They come back the mood very much quickly changes Um

Elliott Lee:

00:10:35.07 - 00:10:45.799 

 and all of a sudden the officer goes into Well OK right before I could see you know something was about to come So I I shout over to someone Hey you know I want to film this

Elliott Lee:

00:10:46.349 - 00:10:49.58 

 Um and then yeah the mood very much changes Um

Elliott Lee:

00:10:50.96 - 00:11:06.679 

 And at that point um the officer goes into the spiel about I'm arresting you on suspicion of breaching the peace Um and and so that that was the initial um re reason Uh that was their initial initial um

Elliott Lee:

00:11:07.53 - 00:11:12.049 

 uh charge against me I suppose if you want to put it um

Elliott Lee:

00:11:13.109 - 00:11:32.63 

 uh So I was arrested for breach of the peace and the officer said The reason I'm arresting you for breaching the peace is because I believe you're gonna use your uh megaphone to spook the horses in the parade and um put a harm to on to yourself Um

Elliott Lee:

00:11:33.909 - 00:12:02.219 

 so that that that's kind of the up going up to the arrest Um it's worth It's worth noting that I've now learned that these horses are very much um trained to be used to very loud noises Um as you expect in any kind of parade Um especially a parade Like the day on the day when you know you had tens of thousands of people were like shouting around them and all that so I found that very odd at the time but yeah

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:12:03.419 - 00:12:13.969 

 So just to just to be clear there and then hand you on to Simon So you you've been You've been arrested for a suspicion of a breach of the peace

Elliott Lee:

00:12:14.359 - 00:12:18.25 

 Um but no it was a straight up um breach of the

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:12:18.26 - 00:12:18.969 

 peace

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:12:19.489 - 00:12:32.25 

 Uh E Even though um based on your own description your any in any peace breaching at this point is intended It hasn't happened as yet

Elliott Lee:

00:12:32.809 - 00:12:44.95 

 Very much so And I hadn't even touched the megaphone at this point It's still II I haven't even like put my hands on it I'm kind of annoyed that I didn't even get to use it so Yeah

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:12:45.83 - 00:12:46.919 

 Simon

Simon Sansbury:

00:12:48.099 - 00:12:58.59 

 OK so that that um that takes us up to um that takes us up to the arrest What What happens next I guess is the is the is the kind of next key thing So

Elliott Lee:

00:12:58.599 - 00:13:14.299 

 uh put in handcuffs behind my back Um I was Yeah I was walked all the way to Well I was walk kind of through um ST James' park kind of paraded about for a bit Um I was I was first taken to a um

Elliott Lee:

00:13:15.2 - 00:13:33.359 

 uh a little like makeshift uh station they had um where officers were just like having their lunch and all that Um and yeah I I sat down for a bit that sat down there for a bit while they found me a um a police fan to be put into

Elliott Lee:

00:13:34.099 - 00:13:34.989 

 um

Elliott Lee:

00:13:35.53 - 00:13:41.719 

 And then at that point they then put my hands in handcuffs in front of me Which is nice of them I suppose

Elliott Lee:

00:13:42.45 - 00:13:53.169 

 Um so yeah they sat me down there for a bit Um and I still worth pointing out I still had um three police officers around me at this point like you know dealing with me

Elliott Lee:

00:13:53.859 - 00:14:10.219 

 Um so yeah after that they kind of paraded me around a bit more around ST James' Park Um down the mall Um in areas where people weren't like necessarily allowed to go So they kind of paraded me around for a bit Um

Elliott Lee:

00:14:11.34 - 00:14:15.08 

 so for context I was arrested uh

Elliott Lee:

00:14:16.299 - 00:14:19.549 

 around nine

Elliott Lee:

00:14:20.4 - 00:14:24.039 

 I can't remember a specific time but you say around nine

Elliott Lee:

00:14:24.729 - 00:14:28.909 

 I wasn't put into a police van until

Elliott Lee:

00:14:29.479 - 00:14:32.039 

 maybe about half 11 So

Elliott Lee:

00:14:32.609 - 00:14:38.049 

 you know a lot of waiting around a lot of walking around in handcuffs Um

Elliott Lee:

00:14:39.469 - 00:14:50.33 

 it you know it it points That felt a bit humiliating because you know they did take me around you know in front of um crowds of you know supporters of of the king They took me

Elliott Lee:

00:14:50.909 - 00:15:07.14 

 kind of everywhere And you know I did have shouts of you know you know lock him up And you know even from stewards which you know I didn't think was the most professional Um but yeah you know it was humiliating Um having you know those kinds of things shouted at me

Elliott Lee:

00:15:08.179 - 00:15:15.89 

 Um so I I was uh put in a police van around 11 Half 11 um taking the station um

Elliott Lee:

00:15:17.08 - 00:15:19.84 

 and yeah about 12 o'clock I was

Elliott Lee:

00:15:20.75 - 00:15:23.75 

 uh taken in um checked in

Elliott Lee:

00:15:24.349 - 00:15:34.33 

 I don't know Signed in I don't know what the best term to use for being signed in checked into a police station is it's not so much a hotel but you know you know what I mean Um

Elliott Lee:

00:15:34.859 - 00:15:37.609 

 so yeah at the station Um

Elliott Lee:

00:15:38.27 - 00:15:57.07 

 you know they kind of went through everything they took Um they took the majority of my stuff into evidence Um so most of the stuff in the Well most of the stuff in the duffel bag apart from the duffel bag itself Um they took the placards Um and a few um other documents

Elliott Lee:

00:15:57.789 - 00:16:02.96 

 Um thankfully I was able to keep hold of my phone Um as a personal possession

Elliott Lee:

00:16:03.89 - 00:16:04.76 

 Um

Elliott Lee:

00:16:06.39 - 00:16:08.099 

 yeah they um

Elliott Lee:

00:16:08.83 - 00:16:22.2 

 at the station They later arrested me on a conspiracy to conspiracy to commit public nuisance which is the uh which comes under the 2022

Elliott Lee:

00:16:22.83 - 00:16:25.909 

 Crime Courts and Sentencing Act

Elliott Lee:

00:16:26.88 - 00:16:27.739 

 Um

Elliott Lee:

00:16:29.159 - 00:16:42.65 

 so yeah that's what I was later charged on And they breed They um they dropped the breach of the peace charge and and the reason for that um was under breach of the peace They weren't actually allowed to hold me

Elliott Lee:

00:16:43.33 - 00:16:47.049 

 Um whereas under the the second one they were

Elliott Lee:

00:16:47.679 - 00:16:54.38 

 um And the reason they wanted to hold me for longer was because they believed I If they

Elliott Lee:

00:16:55.039 - 00:17:13.13 

 you know if they just took my details and let me go I would then go back to the protest and continue protesting Um so it very from from that point it very much seemed like you know they just keep trying to keep me off the streets They're you know preventing me from you know just protesting

Elliott Lee:

00:17:14.16 - 00:17:15.078 

 Um

Elliott Lee:

00:17:16.64 - 00:17:26.969 

 so yeah they um can check me in They took my DNA Took a nice mug shot Um they took a finger and handprints of me So

Elliott Lee:

00:17:27.489 - 00:17:30.099 

 they've now got that on the system Which is nice I suppose

Simon Sansbury:

00:17:30.989 - 00:17:38.01 

 Are they not required If because they and did they Sorry I'm probably leaping a bit ahead here They um

Simon Sansbury:

00:17:39.0 - 00:17:45.949 

 so I mean the were the charges later dropped because I thought they had to destroy any DNA that they

Elliott Lee:

00:17:47.05 - 00:17:47.8 

 I'm not

Simon Sansbury:

00:17:48.43 - 00:17:49.02 

 OK

Simon Sansbury:

00:17:49.55 - 00:17:50.729 

 so yeah

Elliott Lee:

00:17:51.5 - 00:17:58.829 

 so yeah just the spoiler They were eventually dropped but um I was only told they were dropped by my solicitors

Elliott Lee:

00:17:59.39 - 00:18:02.189 

 So I've I've not actually heard anything from the police to say

Elliott Lee:

00:18:02.829 - 00:18:03.949 

 officially OK

Simon Sansbury:

00:18:03.959 - 00:18:13.869 

 so they don't write to you to say Mr Lee we've decided we Elliot Elliott we we've decided not to not to pursue any further course of action They don't actually write to you to say that That's

Elliott Lee:

00:18:14.06 - 00:18:18.709 

 no no no they're not They're not that pleasant It turns out um

Simon Sansbury:

00:18:19.849 - 00:18:36.439 

 ok and and and And during the during this arrest and and you you you've used the term parade paraded about are they moving you from one location to another kind of kind of thing And and at any point are they allowing you to um to get any legal advice or to or to speak to any

Elliott Lee:

00:18:37.18 - 00:18:47.089 

 Yeah I saw I was paraded about um around kind of London for a bit Um and then yeah once I was put in the police I was taken to police station

Elliott Lee:

00:18:47.68 - 00:19:16.9 

 Um at that point I was able to give them um a number of a solicitor Um if anyone's been to any big protests before they've probably been given some kind of uh what's called a bus card Um I believe there's some kind of acronym there Uh but essentially has like all kinds of different Like well-being and legal support Um there was a number of a solicitor on there that I used um that they are They specialise in um kind of civil rights cases

Elliott Lee:

00:19:18.109 - 00:19:26.599 

 Um so yeah that that was um the legal representation I was able to access Um but not until

Elliott Lee:

00:19:27.589 - 00:19:29.369 

 uh about 12 hours later

Simon Sansbury:

00:19:31.63 - 00:19:38.209 

 Right OK So you so you were held You've been charged but you were held for about 12 hours without um

Simon Sansbury:

00:19:38.839 - 00:19:45.76 

 But you were given the opportunity to call for a solicitor But the solicitor didn't turn up for 12 hours Or how does that How does that Because

Elliott Lee:

00:19:45.839 - 00:19:55.16 

 it's so Yeah it's I you know I didn't quite understand it myself at the time so um they actually call a solicitor for you Um

Elliott Lee:

00:19:56.18 - 00:19:58.79 

 uh so that kind of happened Um

Elliott Lee:

00:19:59.76 - 00:20:03.359 

 now the reason it kind of part of the reason it took so long

Elliott Lee:

00:20:04.0 - 00:20:05.92 

 um was because

Elliott Lee:

00:20:06.689 - 00:20:29.439 

 um there was a number of other protesters both like within my group and others So uh just stop oil for example Um animal animal rebellion And I believe there might have been another group there So there was a number of different protesters in In in the station that need to be seen by this specific solicitor So that's why my case took a bit

Elliott Lee:

00:20:29.75 - 00:20:55.709 

 longer I could have taken the advice of a duty solicitor but I would have preferred actually to have the advice of someone who's um got you know expert knowledge in this Yeah Yeah Um So I didn't I didn't get so Yeah I I didn't call a solicitor but I did eventually get to call my partner Um however I didn't get to call my partner for a good 12 hours

Elliott Lee:

00:20:56.959 - 00:21:16.68 

 Um so about nine o'clock at night I finally was able to get through to my partner and I feel like I was way too long because I can you know they didn't Well they knew I'd been arrested based on um they knew I'd been arrested based on some um on a news article that came out by sky

Elliott Lee:

00:21:17.26 - 00:21:40.39 

 They kind of popped up for them randomly so they knew I'd been arrested But annoyingly I wasn't able to get in contact with them until about nine o'clock at night Um based on I I don't know what happened but yeah something went down That just meant I couldn't get in contact them for ages And you know that caused a bit of stress to both myself and my partner as you can imagine

Simon Sansbury:

00:21:41.93 - 00:21:48.449 

 Of course Yeah OK Um no thanks for thanks for kind of um taking taking us through that um Ian

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:21:49.199 - 00:22:04.01 

 Yeah So So And I guess eventually you you know time passes and and obviously the streets of London have cleared So So when when did they finally quote unquote let you out again

Elliott Lee:

00:22:04.02 - 00:22:15.869 

 So I spoke to a solicitor about one o'clock Um I spent spent like most of the afternoon reading some old book and eating mediocre food

Elliott Lee:

00:22:16.359 - 00:22:38.26 

 Um had a little nap and then um yeah that's eventually got to speak to a solicitor Um at one Then I was let out around two onto the streets of London They did They did offer They did offer that I could stay the night but I didn't find the facilities that So So you know I was in the

Simon Sansbury:

00:22:38.27 - 00:22:42.01 

 police station They offered to You can stay in the cell for a night if you want

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:22:42.709 - 00:22:48.63 

 TripAdvisor rating for Charing Cross Sells No not not really more than one

Elliott Lee:

00:22:48.64 - 00:23:00.15 

 star I mean to be fair the vegetable curry was um not worse I've I've had worse to be fair So um I'll give you them I'll give them a staff The curry

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:23:00.68 - 00:23:06.239 

 So so again just coming back to the protest because I think that you know this is where

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:23:06.78 - 00:23:27.8 

 um you know where I think it's important to get into the details So you said there was a small group of you Um you know what sort of numbers And And you mentioned that there was that the you know was there was some good natured conversation Some of the the the there seemed to be some hostility building Can you just

Elliott Lee:

00:23:28.8 - 00:23:32.9 

 that So So yeah Just get some context There were

Elliott Lee:

00:23:33.119 - 00:23:37.3 

 uh the main protest that happened um in Trafalgar Square

Elliott Lee:

00:23:37.93 - 00:23:51.16 

 Um there were some shenanigans going around around there but I wasn't there to experience it So I'll I'll leave that um but yeah there was about four satellite protests um like along the mall and then down White Hall as well So I was um

Elliott Lee:

00:23:51.79 - 00:24:10.109 

 uh at the mall around kind of the kind of Buckingham Palace kind of event Um and there's about 10 to 15 of us A few of us joined So yeah about 10 to 15 Um So yeah we we we had some really good conversations with people you know They were just people asking you know What were we there for What do you actually believe in

Elliott Lee:

00:24:10.66 - 00:24:26.03 

 Um you know what kind of uh head of state would you actually want Um I'll go into that later Obviously Um so that that was kind of the you know the good nature conversation we had some um one of the Australians in fact had um had one of their flags

Elliott Lee:

00:24:26.599 - 00:24:41.13 

 um up And um every time uh we put our placards up they were playing a little game and trying to block us you know it was a good kind of good natured thing like that They weren't like particularly getting annoyed that we were just having a bit of you know a good laugh and that kind of thing

Elliott Lee:

00:24:41.699 - 00:24:42.569 

 Um

Elliott Lee:

00:24:43.38 - 00:24:45.839 

 the the other people the kind of

Elliott Lee:

00:24:46.829 - 00:24:53.64 

 on the other end we had you know people you know just kind of shouting at us being like you know you're here to ruin our day

Elliott Lee:

00:24:54.229 - 00:25:00.0 

 Um you know that there was a dad being like to their daughter Look there's the protesters Um

Elliott Lee:

00:25:00.569 - 00:25:07.319 

 so you know people just generally annoyed thinking you know we're gonna do something silly Um

Elliott Lee:

00:25:08.189 - 00:25:22.75 

 What One of the angry people were called over to an officer you know being like you know you need to arrest them they're gonna disturb us or whatever And an officer came over and was like you know at the minute they're not doing anything disruptive or whatever So

Elliott Lee:

00:25:23.859 - 00:25:24.819 

 um

Elliott Lee:

00:25:25.449 - 00:25:26.099 

 so Yeah

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:25:26.709 - 00:25:49.77 

 so I guess the you know the the the the question is is is which I think is you know again if we try and explore this in because effectively at first glance it looks like you've been arrested based on intentions or presumed intentions Um and you've said yourself that you you you know there was an intention that the small group of you would

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:25:50.14 - 00:25:54.109 

 would kind of chant and try and get your message across as you would

Elliott Lee:

00:25:54.119 - 00:25:55.189 

 with any protest Yeah

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:25:55.25 - 00:26:06.16 

 yeah yeah No Absolutely So I I guess is you know is what What were your intentions for the rest of the day in terms of the nature of your protest Yeah

Elliott Lee:

00:26:06.17 - 00:26:15.959 

 so exactly that So hold up our signs We had um We had about 10 signs Um spelling out you You might have seen them in um

Elliott Lee:

00:26:16.38 - 00:26:39.609 

 in the news Heard of them Um so we have about 10 placards and each each letter has a Each placard has a letter spelling out not my king And we were going to um hold each up Um so they're quite distinctive Um when the um you know when the parade came came past We're going to hold them up and and so people could actually see it Um

Elliott Lee:

00:26:40.01 - 00:26:53.91 

 So both like you know people on the other side of the mall could see it People uh you know helicopters who are filming could see it Um And it you know it did work in in some areas I don't know if if it particularly work for my satellite group

Elliott Lee:

00:26:55.689 - 00:27:25.189 

 particularly because you know we lost the man Um but yeah that that was kind of our intention for the rest of the day to just kind of hold our placards chant for a bit um speak to people Um we're later going to go to Buck Palace when the the king was going to come up on the balcony and wave We're going to go get a bit closer and hold our signs up Um so you know it is not literally nothing other than chanting placards

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:27:26.219 - 00:27:37.27 

 Yeah Looking to looking to be a highly visible protest So just to uh just to kind of So in your little satellite group of of 10 to 15

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:27:37.63 - 00:27:49.5 

 Uh were were you the only person led away because you were to put air quotes up going equipped with your Was it the Was it the megaphone that did for you Or were other other members taken as

Elliott Lee:

00:27:49.51 - 00:28:03.589 

 well Yes So it it was literally just you know that they gave other reasons like you know the fact that I was wearing a yellow T shirt but yeah it it was uh pretty much um the megaphone uh the placards

Elliott Lee:

00:28:04.05 - 00:28:21.569 

 Um and even even the um the the bus card that I was on about that said you know gave a number of solicitor They they used that against me to say Oh you've got a number of solicitor You're intended to get arrested Therefore you're intending to do something bad which I thought was quite a long um

Elliott Lee:

00:28:22.599 - 00:28:35.869 

 AAA long kind of thought process But yeah um but yeah I was the only one in my group And then someone from another uh satellite group got arrested as well and they were taken into the same van as me and taken to the same police station as me

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:28:36.989 - 00:28:48.739 

 And and just before we sort of move on to the wider issues I I got a strong sense from your your description of of being paraded that you felt there was um

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:28:49.469 - 00:29:00.0 

 the description struck me was was that the police were almost using you And I don't want to put words in your mouth but it sounds like you were describing the police Sort of using you as a

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:29:00.56 - 00:29:20.459 

 almost as like a trophy to say Look we have been tough on these protesters who are here and I'm gonna use euphemistic language to ruin your day Look here's one we arrested earlier Um you know and and have made a point of ensuring that as many pro monarchy people saw that you were

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:29:20.92 - 00:29:27.819 

 they're bound in cuffs and being led away Um to I am I have I over dramatised that

Elliott Lee:

00:29:27.829 - 00:29:46.359 

 or I mean you know obviously I have no clear what their actual intentions were but it it did seem quite long for them to find a police van for me Um considering you know the amount of police presence I was in London um you know and again like I had three police officers like escort me around like

Elliott Lee:

00:29:46.78 - 00:29:53.819 

 one of them was holding like you know just carrying my placard It it felt very much like you know Here's the criminal

Elliott Lee:

00:29:54.55 - 00:30:00.93 

 shout Shout stuff Boo Throw your rotten veg if you got any That kind of thing

Elliott Lee:

00:30:01.619 - 00:30:03.42 

 Last part didn't happen But yeah

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:30:03.839 - 00:30:26.64 

 no and no I know but I think there is an element of I think you've been you You've You've described it very richly it you know I I as you were describing I had this sort of picture of you know Well well if we put in the virtual stocks and we parade him then then people will see that we you know E even carrying your placard It's like you know

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:30:26.959 - 00:30:35.16 

 that that there there does feel to me to be a little bit of staging and theatre about it to um to show that things were being done Yes

Elliott Lee:

00:30:35.17 - 00:30:37.39 

 definitely That's definitely how I felt

Simon Sansbury:

00:30:40.38 - 00:30:41.88 

 OK so um

Simon Sansbury:

00:30:42.979 - 00:30:55.52 

 so given I mean you mentioned the um the legislative changes that that took place Um uh a couple of days before um So how how do you feel the about the current legislation around around protesting in the in the UK

Elliott Lee:

00:30:56.199 - 00:30:57.469 

 Yeah so

Elliott Lee:

00:30:58.119 - 00:31:11.3 

 I don't feel great obviously I I think um that every bit of legislation that has come in recently around protest So the uh the 20 the 2022 police crime sentence in

Elliott Lee:

00:31:11.989 - 00:31:20.589 

 um one which kind of um legislates against nuisance protest Disruptive protest

Elliott Lee:

00:31:21.239 - 00:31:41.78 

 Um there's the 2023 1 which focuses on kind of locking on and that kind of thing And then there was um a bit of secondary legislation that came in a little bit after that Um III I feel like they're they're very much all overreaching in in what they do and completely unnecessary

Elliott Lee:

00:31:43.689 - 00:31:45.05 

 I think Um

Elliott Lee:

00:31:48.439 - 00:32:15.739 

 yeah it it it I I think in general it is worrying for the precedent It all of this sets like what What comes next What are they going to legislate against Next You know is is you know are certain protest symbols gonna become you know uh prohibited in public spaces like am I going to be able to hold carry a placard with me That kind of thing It it is what it is worrying in what precedent It it particularly sets

Simon Sansbury:

00:32:17.42 - 00:32:35.459 

 And I mean you you mentioned about one of the things that the police had had um had said to you Was that you obviously Then went I mean I I'm paraphrasing you But you you said that they'd um they'd inferred that you went there with intent to cause disruption because you had the contact details of a solicitor on on hand

Simon Sansbury:

00:32:36.219 - 00:32:37.02 

 Um

Simon Sansbury:

00:32:38.609 - 00:32:52.55 

 I mean does does Does that mean that the the we does that mean that we're not in you know Does that mean we we shouldn't prepare ourselves with contact details of legal representation Should we ever need it Is that

Elliott Lee:

00:32:54.369 - 00:32:57.199 

 II I don't really know to say like you know it's um

Elliott Lee:

00:32:58.92 - 00:33:05.439 

 it it is It's such a strange inference They make uh and and that's the thing with these new bits of legislation

Elliott Lee:

00:33:06.02 - 00:33:19.27 

 because they're so new Police don't necessarily know how to use them properly Um and it very much appeared that on the day You know when the officers found the megaphone they were looking around each other like you know What do we do

Elliott Lee:

00:33:19.79 - 00:33:24.199 

 Is this a arrestable offence or what You know how can how could we charge him

Elliott Lee:

00:33:24.77 - 00:33:25.469 

 Um

Elliott Lee:

00:33:26.209 - 00:33:26.839 

 yeah

Simon Sansbury:

00:33:27.579 - 00:33:39.739 

 So So yeah so the so the megaphone kind of gave the situation of you were going equipped to be loud but you you never Actually as you said yourself You never actually used it But but the um

Simon Sansbury:

00:33:40.54 - 00:33:46.729 

 but the inference being that by carrying it you were you were going to use it Um even though

Simon Sansbury:

00:33:47.27 - 00:33:53.449 

 um you know you you you said yourself that you you weren't going to do that So I mean do do you think that the

Simon Sansbury:

00:33:54.17 - 00:34:04.849 

 that the the current legislation is is Do you think that that's it's you know it's too specific or it's too broad Do you do what Would you kind of rather see it be

Elliott Lee:

00:34:06.28 - 00:34:07.199 

 Um

Elliott Lee:

00:34:10.418 - 00:34:25.739 

 so that's hard to say So I mean the the police crime the 2022 1 That's that's obviously what I got arrested under Um and I'm pretty sure that she just said You know you can't be you can't be um

Elliott Lee:

00:34:26.32 - 00:34:42.919 

 causing a public nuisance You can't be making noises that are too loud that kind of thing So I thought that in a sense that's quite broad Um but it obviously has been created to target protests so it's really hard to say Um

Simon Sansbury:

00:34:43.709 - 00:34:45.909 

 but you had actually done any of those things

Elliott Lee:

00:34:46.3 - 00:34:48.729 

 Yeah but it's also like you know

Elliott Lee:

00:34:49.3 - 00:34:56.8 

 at what point does you know me using a a megaphone become arrestable like

Elliott Lee:

00:34:58.179 - 00:35:01.11 

 you know protesting Um

Elliott Lee:

00:35:02.58 - 00:35:23.37 

 uh Protesting Um we've stopped the sewage and using a a megaphone on South Sea Beach for example as I did a couple of months back Was that disruptive to you know fish in the sea or you know passers by Um What At what point does something become disruptive

Elliott Lee:

00:35:24.04 - 00:35:24.52 

 You know

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:35:24.989 - 00:35:51.87 

 what does this This This I think takes us nicely to our next question Elliot which is where I think you know the the This is where I I think because there is an element around balancing rights in this isn't there which is the right to protest And you did touch on it in your intro and the right of in this case people to have a quote unquote jolly nice day out in London to cheer their new king and wave their little flags

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:35:52.129 - 00:36:09.919 

 So there is an element of I guess would would you accept that potentially a even a modest group 10 15 people with a loud hailer potentially them chanting not my king and waving their placards

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:36:10.55 - 00:36:20.06 

 might take the gloss off of a a pro monarchists once in a lifetime opportunity to enjoy the coronation of their new king

Elliott Lee:

00:36:21.09 - 00:36:29.229 

 So on the day there was tens of thousands of people in London Uh and every one of them was demonstrating

Elliott Lee:

00:36:29.899 - 00:36:49.409 

 Many of them were demonstrating screaming uh God save the king You know we love you Charles You know they they were you know waving their union jacks and English flags and you know all all all the different Um all all their different nationalities flags

Elliott Lee:

00:36:49.979 - 00:37:12.58 

 Uh everyone there was demonstrating They were They were in there in support of a king in support of a parliamentary monarchy and I I very much respect them for being there and coming out on the day and you know shouting and and given their voice you know many of them had their own like um

Elliott Lee:

00:37:13.149 - 00:37:21.699 

 uh noise makers of all kinds Um none of them however were arrested as I'm as far as I'm aware

Elliott Lee:

00:37:22.26 - 00:37:23.26 

 um

Elliott Lee:

00:37:24.25 - 00:37:26.149 

 so it's um

Elliott Lee:

00:37:26.75 - 00:37:28.719 

 it's not very balanced at all No So the

Simon Sansbury:

00:37:28.729 - 00:37:30.889 

 horses can only be spooked by anti monarchy

Elliott Lee:

00:37:30.899 - 00:37:37.419 

 Apparently yeah there's certain like buzzwords that um that particularly you know set them off

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:37:38.939 - 00:38:06.33 

 So I think I think and I and I think that's a that's a really well made point about the um about the you know the the The fact is that the that the vast majority there stood on one side of the equation and and as you say they they are doing their thing in a noise making and you know effectively they're on one side of the equation doing exactly what you were planning to do on the other side of the equation Um And you got arrested Kind of They don't

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:38:06.649 - 00:38:33.86 

 And and I guess that you know that we have seen several high profile incidents and and if you choose not to comment on them I I completely understand where you know organisations like just stop oil have disrupted sporting events and uh I believe they disrupted London pride Which and whether pride is a is a um protest event or not Is is something we you know probably we we touched on or could be on another show

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:38:34.05 - 00:38:39.52 

 But I guess if if you know something like a sporting event where somebody has not gone to protest

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:38:40.06 - 00:38:53.739 

 um you know is there a case there for you know individuals who are looking to disrupt and ruin somebody's day out You know they've paid a lot of money for it is it is or is just the nature of protest

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:38:54.31 - 00:38:58.219 

 Um that that to make your point you have to

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:38:59.129 - 00:39:01.409 

 you have to disrupt somebody else's day

Elliott Lee:

00:39:01.419 - 00:39:08.29 

 Yeah I mean so for start of protest is always hands down um going to be disruptive

Elliott Lee:

00:39:08.85 - 00:39:27.469 

 Um I mean my my kind of thoughts on on each I think there's a lot of different I My kind of thought kind of varies between each instance So I mean for example sport events I very much I I very much support What Um stop Just stop All do do in those cases because

Elliott Lee:

00:39:28.26 - 00:39:31.57 

 you know in reality those these moments are like

Elliott Lee:

00:39:32.219 - 00:39:35.59 

 maybe a minute of wasted time at the game

Elliott Lee:

00:39:36.439 - 00:39:45.199 

 You know if that if that actually if actually makes a difference to a couple of people's views I

Elliott Lee:

00:39:46.239 - 00:39:50.06 

 II I think that's totally fine And and you know the same with um

Elliott Lee:

00:39:50.87 - 00:39:51.939 

 um

Elliott Lee:

00:39:52.459 - 00:39:57.409 

 a pride as a as a queer person I very much support of Of what Just oil Did

Elliott Lee:

00:39:58.0 - 00:40:05.709 

 um that day The corporations that do support pride um you know do have a responsibility in being ethical

Elliott Lee:

00:40:06.51 - 00:40:07.29 

 um

Elliott Lee:

00:40:08.58 - 00:40:13.29 

 so yeah II I think as long as it's under the right um

Elliott Lee:

00:40:13.84 - 00:40:22.739 

 the right circumstances that these groups are are targeting you know people in the right way In a considerate

Elliott Lee:

00:40:23.479 - 00:40:35.54 

 in a considerate way I'm I very much support them II I have found in in the past that I don't necessarily support everything these organisations do Uh there's been some pretty bad examples Um

Elliott Lee:

00:40:36.31 - 00:40:40.75 

 uh by extinction rebellion unjust all

Elliott Lee:

00:40:41.28 - 00:40:42.169 

 Um

Elliott Lee:

00:40:42.81 - 00:41:05.939 

 so to be honest for me it it it depends on the circumstances but as long as it's um impacting people in the right way Um So for example I feel like anything in London is quite quite fair game because London is pretty much the epicentre of of power in the UK And if we can target that in any way then

Elliott Lee:

00:41:06.939 - 00:41:10.409 

 um you know it's made an impact in some form

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:41:11.129 - 00:41:39.939 

 so does it then become a poli So it would suggest that the nature of protest is is political in its nature because you know again as a massive keen cricketer and rugby fan um you know again I I would be just as livid with any protesters who you know supported a cause that I support disrupting the game Because and even though I podcast on politics sport comes before politics for me

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:41:40.26 - 00:41:52.26 

 So does it Then just become a And this is where perhaps we we're in this grey area that people who are judging your actions Uh on the day of the the the coronation of the King

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:41:52.85 - 00:42:20.139 

 It really depends which lens they look through because you could make a case that that you know your group had gone to ruin a once in a lifetime opportunity for those who wanted to enjoy the monarchy And by your very presence You know you can say Well they were there as well But there's an element of being in the that minority position Um a a breach of the peace potentially could follow

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:42:20.35 - 00:42:27.969 

 if those people who are shouting angrily at you if that then leads to a to a boiling over and a breach of the peace

Elliott Lee:

00:42:28.899 - 00:42:32.649 

 Yeah I think there's there is definitely some grey area there

Elliott Lee:

00:42:33.209 - 00:42:35.379 

 Um but II I suppose

Elliott Lee:

00:42:35.889 - 00:42:42.949 

 Yeah II I think there there is a very political aspect of it and you got to consider like you know at what cost am I protesting for

Elliott Lee:

00:42:43.83 - 00:42:58.09 

 Um you know I I personally believe that that protesting and causing disruption for the sake of the environment is is worthy Um you know and and different people have different

Elliott Lee:

00:42:58.659 - 00:43:05.889 

 uh causes that they would be willing to you know go to that length for um you know maybe not necessarily

Elliott Lee:

00:43:06.449 - 00:43:19.129 

 uh was jumping onto the court at Wimbledon But you know some people would be willing to go out and protest for certain issues Um you know whether it be the NHS or um

Elliott Lee:

00:43:19.82 - 00:43:30.439 

 just stop sewage or um you know I mean for example if um if somebody if somebody jumped out onto the court at Wimbledon

Elliott Lee:

00:43:30.959 - 00:43:33.26 

 and they were um

Elliott Lee:

00:43:33.79 - 00:43:38.05 

 they were shouting in support of the NHS for example you know being like you know we need more funding

Elliott Lee:

00:43:38.879 - 00:43:40.639 

 Would people feel differently about that

Elliott Lee:

00:43:41.179 - 00:43:43.629 

 It is It's very much political Protest will always be fair

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:43:44.36 - 00:43:47.07 

 I think so And I I guess by the same token

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:43:47.6 - 00:43:57.729 

 if somebody jumped onto the court at Wimbledon and you know waving a stop the boats banner and send the illegally entering immigrants to Rwanda

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:43:58.5 - 00:44:06.52 

 um you know they might believe that passionately but probably there'd be a a different sector of society who may or may not be sympathetic to them

Elliott Lee:

00:44:06.81 - 00:44:11.87 

 of course Of course And And you know II I think we got to be um

Elliott Lee:

00:44:13.34 - 00:44:34.939 

 what we you know not necessarily Just accept that this is going to happen But we have to be um we have to be open minded and respectful to people of different views I I wasn't fully on board with everything You know these um you know just up what we're doing originally But you know I've kind of grown towards them

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:44:36.479 - 00:44:42.06 

 That's brilliant Thank you It's not an easy question to work through earlier so I appreciate your candour there

Simon Sansbury:

00:44:43.6 - 00:44:46.84 

 OK so I I guess um

Simon Sansbury:

00:44:47.79 - 00:44:57.649 

 so has this experience the um despite the offer of a of a free place to stay for the evening from uh from the police Has that experience put you off for protesting in

Elliott Lee:

00:44:57.659 - 00:45:16.659 

 future No never Um if um I mean if if very much if if I have to ever protest against anything it's gonna be protesting against uh protecting the right to protest itself Um yeah I I It's it's not really deterred me at all

Elliott Lee:

00:45:16.87 - 00:45:46.409 

 Um Obviously I'm now wary that I will need to be more careful in the future You know maybe get a uh a new phone just to just to take to protest for example because unfortunately a lot of my my friends' phones were seized So I you know I've got to be mindful um about how I approach these things in the future But I'm you know I'm always gonna be attending more protests Um next weekend I'm going to in in Brighton and you know I'm sure there'll be many more many more protests

Elliott Lee:

00:45:46.79 - 00:45:50.28 

 coming in the future and I'm gonna be at everyone

Simon Sansbury:

00:45:51.729 - 00:45:55.679 

 OK that was a clear answer on that one

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:45:57.11 - 00:46:26.77 

 So we've we've we we touched on the the protest and and you know again thankfully the whilst I'm sure it was very scary at the time It it it it's it Uh it sounds like it's more reinforced Your um your your appetite rather than um diminished it Um so So if we come back to to the the key element of what the protests or what you were protesting about so I I if there is no monarch

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:46:27.05 - 00:46:35.939 

 um What What do you and your What would you and your your organisation look to replace the monarch with And And what would you see as the key benefits

Elliott Lee:

00:46:36.62 - 00:46:37.51 

 Yeah So

Elliott Lee:

00:46:38.04 - 00:46:48.469 

 um many people who kind of come across us are you know First Force are like you know we don't want a president Uh Boris Johnson We don't want a president

Elliott Lee:

00:46:48.979 - 00:46:52.75 

 Uh Jeremy Corbyn And fair enough I wouldn't want either

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:46:53.12 - 00:46:56.62 

 Um you and me both Yeah we're good We're aligned

Elliott Lee:

00:46:57.199 - 00:46:58.32 

 Um

Simon Sansbury:

00:46:58.33 - 00:47:02.159 

 just to clarify I wouldn't want either either So you know three for three We're

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:47:02.169 - 00:47:03.209 

 all on the same page Yeah

Elliott Lee:

00:47:03.669 - 00:47:07.709 

 Great Um what I would want however um

Elliott Lee:

00:47:08.409 - 00:47:12.459 

 is a president that is um

Elliott Lee:

00:47:14.719 - 00:47:18.979 

 outside of party political lines I would want a president that actually

Elliott Lee:

00:47:19.58 - 00:47:20.84 

 um

Elliott Lee:

00:47:23.03 - 00:47:41.1 

 is is not going by party lines and is not does not necessarily have the executive power Um the the best way to kind of look at this is a president who is in a sense a referee of um British politics and and the Constitution

Elliott Lee:

00:47:41.83 - 00:47:55.409 

 Um someone who has both ceremonial and constitutional roles So this would only work in in a scenario where we actually had a written constitution as well which I should be clear on Um

Elliott Lee:

00:47:56.129 - 00:47:58.979 

 And so you know for example um

Elliott Lee:

00:47:59.649 - 00:48:02.11 

 say um

Elliott Lee:

00:48:02.629 - 00:48:12.139 

 say we have a secretary of state a minister who kind of um you know does something bad you know

Elliott Lee:

00:48:12.679 - 00:48:37.08 

 You know I I'm sure we've probably had a couple of examples of that in the last few years you know You know say say we had you know something like that Now at the minute the only people that can sanction that person is the prime Minister Unfortunately if if the minister and the Prime Minister are very good friends that's quite unlikely to happen If we had a president and a Constitution and the Constitution said

Elliott Lee:

00:48:37.6 - 00:48:42.469 

 uh if the if the Constitution said you know if you um

Elliott Lee:

00:48:44.53 - 00:48:56.229 

 if you do uh this You know if you do something that puts your office into disrepute uh the president could then look at the Constitution and apply it to the situation

Elliott Lee:

00:48:57.33 - 00:49:07.52 

 Uh and the president could decide a sanction you know Does that person um need to be dismissed Do they need to be um

Elliott Lee:

00:49:08.81 - 00:49:10.639 

 you know does some other action need to happen

Elliott Lee:

00:49:11.199 - 00:49:29.77 

 Uh and you know there's so many different examples of this So um you know if if um if the president believes that the prime Minister no longer has confidence of the House of Commons the president could then decide based on what the Constitution says

Elliott Lee:

00:49:31.239 - 00:49:32.879 

 Yes we need a

Elliott Lee:

00:49:33.439 - 00:49:41.56 

 A Um yes we need a an election or you know no we don't need an election And I'll put the

Elliott Lee:

00:49:42.179 - 00:49:48.889 

 leader of the opposition in charge and see if they can do a better job So it's It's very much put in um

Elliott Lee:

00:49:50.129 - 00:49:56.87 

 making a president of a kind of a referee of of how we do politics um

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:49:57.08 - 00:50:17.29 

 is isn't the challenge there though Elliot there is a saying isn't there that says You know if if anybody wants to rise to high political office that should rule them out of ever taking on high political office Because I I think possibly we could both agree at the moment that whilst there whilst the you know the King is the

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:50:17.75 - 00:50:25.12 

 is the kind of ceremonial head of state in terms of their their involvement in politics or their involvement in

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:50:25.719 - 00:50:45.899 

 um you know matters The day to day running of the country is almost nothing isn't it It's it's It's consultative Perhaps at times I guess And what you've sort of described there for me I is a I actually I find quite scary because if I look at the American model of the president

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:50:46.75 - 00:50:55.34 

 who who I think originally was intended to uphold the American Constitution and and be that role that you describe

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:50:55.979 - 00:51:05.729 

 what What It you know the way that I view that political that office now And I'd see it going the same way in the UK Is because it it it would need to be elected

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:51:06.28 - 00:51:26.11 

 Isn't the danger that we would have seen populist Boris Johnson versus populist Jeremy Corbyn where you would have ended up You know in the Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton you get to choose the second worst person in the world is is that not the risk of the the the

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:51:26.689 - 00:51:28.57 

 the kind of situation you describe

Elliott Lee:

00:51:30.189 - 00:51:41.669 

 Um II I suppose it is a risk But again I wouldn't be looking towards um you know a president in such a an American fashion I'd be looking more towards um

Elliott Lee:

00:51:42.37 - 00:51:51.77 

 um Ireland is a great example And and they are very much to what we we look up towards um as to someone who can um

Elliott Lee:

00:51:55.56 - 00:52:24.37 

 uh you know make a make informed decisions on based on what What are essentially the country's rules Um and you know we already have some great examples of that Judges do that exactly They they look at what the law is and they make a informed decision on that Um in the House of Commons we have a speaker and that again is is quite similar to the role we'd be looking at but something much higher up

Simon Sansbury:

00:52:27.02 - 00:52:47.239 

 And would you have them elected by this person Would you have them appointed by the by the public or or because the the speakers appointed by the by the by the members of the house by the by the MP S would Would you Would you look for that or or something kind of Or do you have something like jury service where it's literally someone is appointed

Elliott Lee:

00:52:49.479 - 00:52:51.959 

 appointed randomly the presidency

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:52:53.909 - 00:52:55.679 

 I think I'd be rather good at it

Elliott Lee:

00:52:56.669 - 00:53:04.449 

 Um no So what we'd be looking at is um a A people's vote So um

Elliott Lee:

00:53:05.09 - 00:53:13.31 

 you know uh proportional representation Um well now I suppose that's something the most that would

Elliott Lee:

00:53:14.0 - 00:53:15.03 

 my

Elliott Lee:

00:53:15.54 - 00:53:20.629 

 most be be most representative So not necessarily first past the post but um

Elliott Lee:

00:53:21.179 - 00:53:31.719 

 yeah but yes a point by the people of of the United Kingdom or at the very least of you know England and Wales If Scotland doesn't want him

Simon Sansbury:

00:53:34.489 - 00:53:38.26 

 and and how long would you want their terms to be

Elliott Lee:

00:53:38.58 - 00:53:47.27 

 Yeah so probably about five years You know I think that's a healthy amount And there would have to be term limits of you know two or three

Elliott Lee:

00:53:48.239 - 00:53:53.649 

 you know that That's I think that just ensures a healthy democracy that we do have Uh

Elliott Lee:

00:53:54.239 - 00:53:55.31 

 um

Elliott Lee:

00:53:56.12 - 00:54:17.77 

 you know a a spin in door of presidents in a way that you know keeps keeps things fresh And you know it's important that anyone you know any anyone is able to access the office that no matter what walk of life you know you don't have to be a politician You could be a charity boss boss You could be you know someone

Elliott Lee:

00:54:18.0 - 00:54:29.53 

 quite um affluent in the not affluent um influence with a lot of influence in the NHS for example someone who has you know a really good strong CV

Elliott Lee:

00:54:30.35 - 00:54:34.08 

 You know they're the people we would want to have in that kind of office

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:54:36.84 - 00:54:39.439 

 And so I guess having relieved

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:54:40.0 - 00:54:52.159 

 the king and queen of their ceremonial head of state duties Uh what How does the uh what what happens next for the royal family under that uh

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:54:52.87 - 00:54:55.09 

 that do they do they still have a

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:54:55.649 - 00:55:00.25 

 a kind of a AAA kind of historical

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:55:01.159 - 00:55:09.979 

 tourist attraction role or or Or do you feel you know does the does the title and the the lineage and everything end with that

Elliott Lee:

00:55:10.689 - 00:55:20.969 

 I mean they they can live on you know allow them back Um uh you know and I'm sure they have enough money to keep themselves going for

Elliott Lee:

00:55:21.55 - 00:55:28.5 

 however many thousands of years So I mean you know they don't necessarily need any um

Elliott Lee:

00:55:29.07 - 00:55:40.0 

 any any titles to to keep them going or anything like that Um and you know past couple of years they II I wouldn't expect them needing anything from the state

Elliott Lee:

00:55:40.59 - 00:55:51.739 

 Um but you know I mean France France is a great example Thousands of people still go and see their royal palaces yet their their their monarchy died many many years ago

Elliott Lee:

00:55:52.27 - 00:55:53.09 

 Um

Elliott Lee:

00:55:54.05 - 00:55:58.29 

 so you know I I don't expect to be demolished in Buckingham Palace anytime soon

Elliott Lee:

00:55:59.12 - 00:56:00.0 

 Um

Elliott Lee:

00:56:01.629 - 00:56:02.75 

 but yeah You know you quid

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:56:02.76 - 00:56:05.05 

 on super

Elliott Lee:

00:56:05.6 - 00:56:08.86 

 anything other than that you know the monarchy

Elliott Lee:

00:56:09.649 - 00:56:10.469 

 We should go

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:56:15.01 - 00:56:15.86 

 Perfect

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:56:17.01 - 00:56:19.33 

 Any other questions from yourself Simon

Simon Sansbury:

00:56:19.899 - 00:56:49.85 

 Uh no II I think there's um there's lots for lots for our our viewers to to chew over there Um and to um by all means um any any of our viewers or anyone listening listening to the stream Um either later on or listening to the audio version by all means do add your comments uh as to what What you think uh would work instead Um or whether you're in favour of keeping the monarchy and indeed any of your views about the um about the police's ability to um

Simon Sansbury:

00:56:50.0 - 00:56:54.59 

 to arrest Elliott for carrying a loud Haley that he didn't use and wearing a yellow T shirt

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:56:55.449 - 00:57:03.54 

 We do need to ask for complete completeness though because it's been central to the whole story What happened to the loud hailer

Elliott Lee:

00:57:05.03 - 00:57:33.699 

 So II I didn't really go into this too much but yeah Um So my Yeah my charges got dropped As as my uh solicitor let me know Um uh and I I was told you know the police would get in touch with me about giving my stuff back Um we are now What's the date today Uh ninth of July Um I've only just heard back from an officer the week before last um

Elliott Lee:

00:57:33.959 - 00:57:47.26 

 and he said we'll try and get your stuff back as soon as possible Um even though you know charges have been dropped for this whole time Um so we're slowly in the process of trying to get my

Elliott Lee:

00:57:47.8 - 00:58:00.679 

 my um megaphone and other bits and bobs back I'm I'm a bit annoyed I start to have my um placard back as well Um it doesn't have any monetary value but just our principle I I wouldn't mind it back

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:58:01.28 - 00:58:11.169 

 Well I think in terms of in terms of completeness of the day I went to London and it went horribly wrong You really should have the placard for posterity

Elliott Lee:

00:58:11.83 - 00:58:15.85 

 Yeah Yeah I mean I I got a few newspaper pages just to

Elliott Lee:

00:58:16.389 - 00:58:19.399 

 just to help me out for for a time

Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris:

00:58:19.659 - 00:58:35.989 

 for a time in the future So Elliott thanks ever so much for coming on and sharing your story Um and uh good luck for next weekend I hope you have a great time in Brighton So you've been listening to the Pompe politics podcast I've been I and Tiny Morris

Simon Sansbury:

00:58:36.5 - 00:58:38.3 

 and our guest has been Elliott Lee

Simon Sansbury:

00:58:39.739 - 00:58:55.919 

 and I've been Simon Sansbury Join us next week at 6 27 Uh well we'll be taking an advanced look at the agenda for the uh Portsmouth City Council's uh full council meeting Um that takes place on Tuesday the 18th So join us next week at 6 27

Simon Sansbury:

00:59:01.669 - 00:59:04.699 

 Thank you for listening to this episode of the Pope Politics Podcast