“I must have been right on the edge of that. I went to get up and two police officers just grabbed me and handcuffed me. I don’t think they said anything, I think they arrested me before they asked a question.
“I feel like once I was in the system they didn’t listen – I tried to explain that I wasn’t part of the group.”
Over 13 hours, Chambers was held in a cell, subjected to physical searches and had her DNA, fingerprints and photograph taken before the Met realised she was a bystander.
“I think the only question they asked me was: ‘Why were you on the Mall?’,” she added.
She said it was not until she was interviewed at 7pm, more than 10 hours since her arrest, that police officers acknowledged their mistake.
“They looked at each other and then they asked ‘have you ever heard of Just Stop Oil?’ I said, ‘Up until today no.’ They said we have no further questions and we’re really sorry you’ve been caught up in this.
“That was the point I started crying and got emotional – that was the first time anyone had been able to listen to my side of the story.
“I asked them, ‘Was there anything I could have done that would have meant I didn’t end up here?’”
It was a further two and a half hours before she was able to leave Wandsworth Police Station at 10pm to return home.
A spokesman for the Met Police said: “We are aware that a woman was arrested in relation to a protest on 6 May 2023.
“The arresting officer was from Lincolnshire Police and the complaint has therefore been passed to the relevant force to investigate. The Met will assist by providing any relevant information they require.”