Violence at Tory HQ overshadows student fees protest
There have been violent scenes as tens of thousands of people protested against plans to treble tuition fees and cut university funding in England.
Demonstrators stormed a building in Westminster housing the Conservative Party head quarters, smashed windows and got on to the roof.
Outside, a crowd of thousands surged as placards and banners were set on fire and missiles were thrown.
Student leaders condemned the violence as "despicable".
They say about 50,000 people took part in a march through westminster earlier.
A stand-off is still taking place between about two dozen demonstrators and the police.
This siege of Millbank Tower was a violent break-away from what had been a noisy but good-natured march.
As demonstrators crowded around the building, some masked and hooded, the mood began to turn ugly. Missiles began flying towards the large plate glass windows, with only a thin line of police, with metal truncheons raised, guarding the building's entrance.
Outnumbered and overwhelmed, they were slowly but relentlessly hemmed against the front of the building.
As protestors surged, a succession of windows were smashed and then demonstrators flooded into the building entrance. Security guards scattered and the handful of police inside were completely overrun. A few yards away, in surreal calm, guests carried on eating in the adjacent Pizza Express.
Inside the building, demonstrators wearing police hats danced on tables. A protester ripped a security camera from the ceiling and danced in triumph, slogans were spray-painted on walls.
The level of anger and the swiftness of the violence seemed to have caught everyone by surprise.
According to Scotland Yard, 10 people have been taken to hospitals in London for treatment - including three police officers. None was seriously injured.
The vast majority of demonstrators had been peaceful, a statement said, but "a small minority" had damaged property.
At one point, a fire extinguisher was reported to have been thrown from the roof.
The police have faced accusations that they did not have enough officers on duty when the violence erupted.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said the force should have anticipated the level of violence "better".
"It's not acceptable. It's an embarrassment for London and for us," he said.
The London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "I am appalled that a small minority have today shamefully abused their right to protest.
"This is intolerable and all those involved will be pursued and they will face the full force of the law.
"The Metropolitan Police Commissioner has assured me that there will be a vigorous post incident investigation. He will also be reviewing police planning and response."
BBC News correspondent Mike Sergeant is at the scene.
He said protesters on the roof had thrown liquids down and a female police officer had been injured.
At 1700 GMT he said the police had "largely taken control" of the building; he had seen some protesters escorted out by officers and the crowds outside were gradually dispersing.
"The police have largely established control of the building. They are gradually moving the crowd back, perhaps a metre every minute." he said.
“I am appalled that a small minority have today shamefully abused their right to protest.”
Boris Johnson Mayor of London
Students shouted: "No ifs, no buts, no education cuts" as the line of riot police pushed them backwards into the street.
One of the protesters who got on to the roof was Manchester student Emily Parks.
She said she had no regrets.
"It shows how angry people are," she told BBC News.
"Why is our education being cut? Why are tuition fees going up here when in other parts people have free education?
"People have felt the need to take matters into their own hands."
President of the National Union of Students, Aaron Porter: "This was not part of our plan"
Demonstrators were also cleared from outside the Liberal Democrat headquarters, where a car window has been smashed.
Elsewhere, the massive rally had passed off peacefully.
Hundreds of coach loads of students and lecturers had travelled to London from across England for the demonstration in Whitehall, with 2,000 students also travelling from Wales.
President of the National Union of Students Aaron Porter condemned the violence as "despicable". "This was not part of our plan," he said.
"This action was by others who have come out and used this opportunity to hijack a peaceful protest."
Student protest outside 30 Millbank Police in riot helmets formed a line to keep protesters out of the building
The NUS is threatening to try to unseat Liberal Democrat MPs who go back on pre-election pledges they made to oppose any rise in tuition fees.
Higher education funding is being cut by 40% - with teaching grants being all but wiped out except for science and maths.
The government expects the costs of teaching other courses to be funded by tuition fees.
It proposes that tuition fees should rise from 2012.
The plan is for a lower cap at ?6,000, with universities able to charge up to ?9,000 - triple the current cap - in "exceptional circumstances".
Ministers insist their plans offer a "fair deal for students".
Question Time clash
Earlier on Wednesday, at Question Time in the Commons, the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg had a fiery exchange with Labour's Harriet Harman over fees.
Tory source confirms some party staff are still in the building
He was accused of hypocrisy, because the Liberal Democrats opposed tuition fees in the run-up to the election.
But he said Labour had brought in tuition fees - and had no policy on university funding.
Ms Harman said Nick Clegg was "going along with a Tory plan - to shove the cost of higher education on to students and their families".
Twice, she asked him to specify the size of the cut to university teaching grants - a figure she said was 80%.
But Mr Clegg did not say - and instead attacked Labour's record on fees.
"Against fees in 1997 - introduced a few months later; against in manifesto in 2001 - introduced top up fees," he said.
NUS president Aaron Porter says students will attempt to force a by-election in the constituencies of MPs who renege on a pre-election pledge to oppose any hike.
He said: "We will initiate a right to recall against any MP that breaks their pledge on tuition fees."
In a speech in June, the deputy prime minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said the coalition would bring in a right for voters to re-call their MP and force a by-election if he or she was found to have been engaged in "serious wrong-doing".
Students plan to make Mr Clegg their first target - and say they will be collecting signatures in his constituency on Monday.
But as yet, no laws have been brought in to make such "re-calls" possible.
'Unbearable debt'
The Universities Minister David Willetts said the new system would be fairer than the present one, offering more help to the poorest students.
Student protest The earlier protest was peaceful
Students would not have to pay anything "up-front" and as graduates, would only have to pay back their tuition fee loans once they were earning ?21,000 or more.
"It's a very progressive package and I hope young people will not be put off," he said.
"We are really putting power in the hands of students. The money will go where they choose but they will only have to pay back when they are graduates in well-paid jobs.
"I hope at the end of this we will have a better university system than we have at the moment."
Among the crowds at the rally in London were about 400 students from Oxford.
Oxford University Student Union President David Barclay said: "This is the day a generation of politicians learn that though they might forget their promises, students won't.
Also there was Johnny Davis, who travelled from Birmingham University, with 11 coach loads of students.
"The level of passion to protest is amazing," he said.
"It shows how people are very concerned. It seems that students are getting hit time after time.
"This is an outrage to all students who have been told for the last decade to raise their aspirations and go to university."
Regrettable
Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said the actions of a minority should not distract from today's message.
"The overwhelming majority of staff and students on the march came here to to send a clear and peaceful message to the politicians," she said.
"The actions of a minority, out of 50,000 people, is regrettable."
Greg Judge, a student at the Centre for Deaf Studies in Bristol and an executive member of the youth wing of the Lib Dems, said: "The government needs to think again and about the damage it will cause to a generation of young people if this increase goes ahead".
Anna Tennant-Siren, a student at the University of Ulster in Coleraine, said: "I am here because it is important that students stand up and shout about what is going on.
"Politicians don't seem to care. They should be taking money from people who earn seven-figure salaries, not from students who don't have any money."
Caveman_nige's Footnote:
I guess its time people started standing up themselves in this country again, we have become a nation of followers who had given up on their right to complain and when not listened to make sure they are heard. Our much loved french neighbours have no problem in showing their feelings.
People should not be afaid of their government, their government should be afraid of them.
MPs have a cushy life and some make it even better by abusing their expenses, i am sure they all have private healthcare, they have the ability to vote for their level of their own pay rise. They have had their education and are well paid so putting their own children through university is not going to hurt. For the majority of us this 'university for all' is being taken away.. Lets not forget that what the current government are doing was started by Labour.
I am well aware that our country is in massive debt and that Labour are still in denial about this.. Yes we need cuts but some of the decisions are bad and people need to start saying something about it.. God knows why Cameron recently boasted that the UK are doubling our overseas aid budget, wtf for, the UK is broke, fix this country first you pathetic bunch of polititans..
Demonstrators stormed a building in Westminster housing the Conservative Party head quarters, smashed windows and got on to the roof.
Outside, a crowd of thousands surged as placards and banners were set on fire and missiles were thrown.
Student leaders condemned the violence as "despicable".
They say about 50,000 people took part in a march through westminster earlier.
A stand-off is still taking place between about two dozen demonstrators and the police.
This siege of Millbank Tower was a violent break-away from what had been a noisy but good-natured march.
As demonstrators crowded around the building, some masked and hooded, the mood began to turn ugly. Missiles began flying towards the large plate glass windows, with only a thin line of police, with metal truncheons raised, guarding the building's entrance.
Outnumbered and overwhelmed, they were slowly but relentlessly hemmed against the front of the building.
As protestors surged, a succession of windows were smashed and then demonstrators flooded into the building entrance. Security guards scattered and the handful of police inside were completely overrun. A few yards away, in surreal calm, guests carried on eating in the adjacent Pizza Express.
Inside the building, demonstrators wearing police hats danced on tables. A protester ripped a security camera from the ceiling and danced in triumph, slogans were spray-painted on walls.
The level of anger and the swiftness of the violence seemed to have caught everyone by surprise.
According to Scotland Yard, 10 people have been taken to hospitals in London for treatment - including three police officers. None was seriously injured.
The vast majority of demonstrators had been peaceful, a statement said, but "a small minority" had damaged property.
At one point, a fire extinguisher was reported to have been thrown from the roof.
The police have faced accusations that they did not have enough officers on duty when the violence erupted.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said the force should have anticipated the level of violence "better".
"It's not acceptable. It's an embarrassment for London and for us," he said.
The London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "I am appalled that a small minority have today shamefully abused their right to protest.
"This is intolerable and all those involved will be pursued and they will face the full force of the law.
"The Metropolitan Police Commissioner has assured me that there will be a vigorous post incident investigation. He will also be reviewing police planning and response."
BBC News correspondent Mike Sergeant is at the scene.
He said protesters on the roof had thrown liquids down and a female police officer had been injured.
At 1700 GMT he said the police had "largely taken control" of the building; he had seen some protesters escorted out by officers and the crowds outside were gradually dispersing.
"The police have largely established control of the building. They are gradually moving the crowd back, perhaps a metre every minute." he said.
“I am appalled that a small minority have today shamefully abused their right to protest.”
Boris Johnson Mayor of London
Students shouted: "No ifs, no buts, no education cuts" as the line of riot police pushed them backwards into the street.
One of the protesters who got on to the roof was Manchester student Emily Parks.
She said she had no regrets.
"It shows how angry people are," she told BBC News.
"Why is our education being cut? Why are tuition fees going up here when in other parts people have free education?
"People have felt the need to take matters into their own hands."
President of the National Union of Students, Aaron Porter: "This was not part of our plan"
Demonstrators were also cleared from outside the Liberal Democrat headquarters, where a car window has been smashed.
Elsewhere, the massive rally had passed off peacefully.
Hundreds of coach loads of students and lecturers had travelled to London from across England for the demonstration in Whitehall, with 2,000 students also travelling from Wales.
President of the National Union of Students Aaron Porter condemned the violence as "despicable". "This was not part of our plan," he said.
"This action was by others who have come out and used this opportunity to hijack a peaceful protest."
Student protest outside 30 Millbank Police in riot helmets formed a line to keep protesters out of the building
The NUS is threatening to try to unseat Liberal Democrat MPs who go back on pre-election pledges they made to oppose any rise in tuition fees.
Higher education funding is being cut by 40% - with teaching grants being all but wiped out except for science and maths.
The government expects the costs of teaching other courses to be funded by tuition fees.
It proposes that tuition fees should rise from 2012.
The plan is for a lower cap at ?6,000, with universities able to charge up to ?9,000 - triple the current cap - in "exceptional circumstances".
Ministers insist their plans offer a "fair deal for students".
Question Time clash
Earlier on Wednesday, at Question Time in the Commons, the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg had a fiery exchange with Labour's Harriet Harman over fees.
Tory source confirms some party staff are still in the building
He was accused of hypocrisy, because the Liberal Democrats opposed tuition fees in the run-up to the election.
But he said Labour had brought in tuition fees - and had no policy on university funding.
Ms Harman said Nick Clegg was "going along with a Tory plan - to shove the cost of higher education on to students and their families".
Twice, she asked him to specify the size of the cut to university teaching grants - a figure she said was 80%.
But Mr Clegg did not say - and instead attacked Labour's record on fees.
"Against fees in 1997 - introduced a few months later; against in manifesto in 2001 - introduced top up fees," he said.
NUS president Aaron Porter says students will attempt to force a by-election in the constituencies of MPs who renege on a pre-election pledge to oppose any hike.
He said: "We will initiate a right to recall against any MP that breaks their pledge on tuition fees."
In a speech in June, the deputy prime minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said the coalition would bring in a right for voters to re-call their MP and force a by-election if he or she was found to have been engaged in "serious wrong-doing".
Students plan to make Mr Clegg their first target - and say they will be collecting signatures in his constituency on Monday.
But as yet, no laws have been brought in to make such "re-calls" possible.
'Unbearable debt'
The Universities Minister David Willetts said the new system would be fairer than the present one, offering more help to the poorest students.
Student protest The earlier protest was peaceful
Students would not have to pay anything "up-front" and as graduates, would only have to pay back their tuition fee loans once they were earning ?21,000 or more.
"It's a very progressive package and I hope young people will not be put off," he said.
"We are really putting power in the hands of students. The money will go where they choose but they will only have to pay back when they are graduates in well-paid jobs.
"I hope at the end of this we will have a better university system than we have at the moment."
Among the crowds at the rally in London were about 400 students from Oxford.
Oxford University Student Union President David Barclay said: "This is the day a generation of politicians learn that though they might forget their promises, students won't.
Also there was Johnny Davis, who travelled from Birmingham University, with 11 coach loads of students.
"The level of passion to protest is amazing," he said.
"It shows how people are very concerned. It seems that students are getting hit time after time.
"This is an outrage to all students who have been told for the last decade to raise their aspirations and go to university."
Regrettable
Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said the actions of a minority should not distract from today's message.
"The overwhelming majority of staff and students on the march came here to to send a clear and peaceful message to the politicians," she said.
"The actions of a minority, out of 50,000 people, is regrettable."
Greg Judge, a student at the Centre for Deaf Studies in Bristol and an executive member of the youth wing of the Lib Dems, said: "The government needs to think again and about the damage it will cause to a generation of young people if this increase goes ahead".
Anna Tennant-Siren, a student at the University of Ulster in Coleraine, said: "I am here because it is important that students stand up and shout about what is going on.
"Politicians don't seem to care. They should be taking money from people who earn seven-figure salaries, not from students who don't have any money."
Caveman_nige's Footnote:
I guess its time people started standing up themselves in this country again, we have become a nation of followers who had given up on their right to complain and when not listened to make sure they are heard. Our much loved french neighbours have no problem in showing their feelings.
People should not be afaid of their government, their government should be afraid of them.
MPs have a cushy life and some make it even better by abusing their expenses, i am sure they all have private healthcare, they have the ability to vote for their level of their own pay rise. They have had their education and are well paid so putting their own children through university is not going to hurt. For the majority of us this 'university for all' is being taken away.. Lets not forget that what the current government are doing was started by Labour.
I am well aware that our country is in massive debt and that Labour are still in denial about this.. Yes we need cuts but some of the decisions are bad and people need to start saying something about it.. God knows why Cameron recently boasted that the UK are doubling our overseas aid budget, wtf for, the UK is broke, fix this country first you pathetic bunch of polititans..
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