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London student demonstration sees arrests and scuffles | London student demonstration sees arrests and scuffles |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Police have made 11 arrests after thousands of students marched through London protesting against education cuts, tuition fees and student debt. | |
Two were held after charging at police guarding the Conservative Party headquarters in central London. | |
The Free Education march was called to oppose tuition fees of up to £9,000. | |
The match was not endorsed by the National Union of Students, but was backed by groups including the National Campaign Against Fees And Cuts. | |
The largely peaceful demonstration ended with a rally in Parliament Square after protesters broke through barriers to gain entry. | |
Some of them broke off to other parts of central London where there were clashes with police. | |
A small group pushed a wheelie bin at police at the entrance to the nearby Tory offices where a man and woman were arrested for affray. | |
The other arrests included two for assaults on police officers, one for criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon and another for violent disorder. | |
The Metropolitan Police said three officers had suffered minor injuries. | |
"Various missiles were thrown at the officers and protesters pulled down protective fencing around the grass area in Parliament Square," the force said in a statement. | "Various missiles were thrown at the officers and protesters pulled down protective fencing around the grass area in Parliament Square," the force said in a statement. |
Demonstrators chanted slogans such as "books not bombs" and carried banners saying "free education, tax the rich". | |
One student, 20-year-old Hannah Stewart from Central Saint Martins college, said: "I'm here because three quarters of students cannot pay their debts off. | |
"We have no alternative and there is no choice. Voting hasn't worked, but we have things that work - arts, literature, petitions and protesting." | |
BBC education correspondent Sean Coughlan said those gathered in Parliament Square earlier listened to speeches and chanted slogans. | |
One group of protesters made their way to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills where they were met by riot police. | |
A Starbucks coffee shop was also targeted, with demonstrators chanting criticism of the company's tax affairs. | |
'Making us pay' | |
Demonstration organiser Aaron Kiely said the protest was the beginning of a "major wave of action" running up to next year's general election. | Demonstration organiser Aaron Kiely said the protest was the beginning of a "major wave of action" running up to next year's general election. |
"We want to end the lifetime of debt which is a massive burden for students," he said. | |
"Students are really angry because we go to university and then at the end of it we get an average of £40,000-worth of debt. That puts you in a hell of a difficult position when you start to think about a mortgage and a family. | |
"We need an alternative." | |
Graduate Sarah Bates added: "They are making us pay for the banking crisis, austerity and cuts are making problems for everybody, and people don't know how or where to voice their opinions." | |
The march was supported by groups including the Student Assembly Against Austerity and the Young Greens. | |
But it was not endorsed by the National Union of Students (NUS), whose central London headquarters was daubed with graffiti, including the word "scabs". | |
Before the march, the union warned that it posed "an unacceptable level of risk" to members. | |
A spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that university admission figures showed that the current fees system had not deterred disadvantaged students from applying - and that, in fact, numbers of applicants had risen. | A spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that university admission figures showed that the current fees system had not deterred disadvantaged students from applying - and that, in fact, numbers of applicants had risen. |
"We recognise the right of all students to free speech. However, the world-renowned calibre of the UK's higher education system would not be sustainable if tuition fees were removed," the spokesman said. | "We recognise the right of all students to free speech. However, the world-renowned calibre of the UK's higher education system would not be sustainable if tuition fees were removed," the spokesman said. |
"Our reforms were necessary to further strengthen the quality of our system and this summer the OECD described the UK as one of the few countries that has developed a sustainable funding system for its universities." | "Our reforms were necessary to further strengthen the quality of our system and this summer the OECD described the UK as one of the few countries that has developed a sustainable funding system for its universities." |