His supporters claim he was going to hand himself in to police
An organiser of the so-called ‘Yellow Vest’ protests outside Parliament, James Goddard, has been arrested by police on suspicion of a public order offence.
Police confirmed that a man in his thirties was arrested just before midday on Saturday outside St James Park tube station on suspicion of a public order offence committed on 7 January.
His supporters claim he was on his way to hand himself over to authorities at Holborn police station when he was detained, according to BBC journalist Daniel Sandford.
James Goddard has been arrested outside St James Park tube station. His supporters claim he was about to hand himself in at Holborn police station at 12pm
— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) January 12, 2019
A police spokesperson said: “We can confirm that a man in his 30s was arrested at 11.42hrs on Saturday 12 January outside St James Park tube station on suspicion of a public order offence. He is currently in police custody and is being taken to a central London police station.”
The arrest follows police confirming on Tuesday that they were looking into the pro-Brexit protests to confirm whether any criminality had taken place, a Scotland Yard spokesperson said they would deal “robustly” with any harassment or abuse that “constituted a criminal offence”.
