Thousands of students storm Tory HQ in protest at tuition fees rise

1/4

Protesters stormed the Conservative Party headquarters today smashing windows and throwing missiles at police.

A mass protest against tuition fees by more than 45,000 students turned violent as a huge procession to the House of Commons passed David Cameron's campaign headquarters.

Trouble-makers surged through police lines and occupied the lobby of the Millbank Tower.

About 50 protesters got on to the roof, dropping a large metal fire extinguisher on to riot police. One waved a black and red anarchist flag at the cheering crowd below.

At least right people were taken to hospital with injuries.

One policewoman with a bloody wound to her head was led away from the side of the building by two colleagues. A stick was thrown at her as she went.

Police in riot gear were deployed and fought running battles with protesters in an effort to bring the trouble under control.

At first round 20 protesters occupied the entrance hall of 30 Millbank but by mid-afternoon they had used chairs to smash the glass front effectively opening it up to the outside.

TV images showed students inside the building, brandishing anti-fees placards and others smashing windows outside appearing to be unchallenged by police.

Thousands of students occupied the concourse in front of the building and lit a giant bonfire of placards.

Television footage showed fires burning inside the building.

Police appeared to take a decision to play a waiting game and control the demonstration rather than deploy hundreds of riot officers.

Early reports claimed Scottish students and London Socialists were blamed for the storming of Millbank tower.

The scenes of protesters smashing windows had echoes of the G20 riot in the City last year after which police were strongly criticised for a heavy-handed approach.

The biggest trouble occurred at the front of Millbank Tower where a thin line of officers struggled to keep control.

It was the biggest protest by students since 1998, when tuition fees were first introduced by Labour.

All Conservative staff were evacuated from the building at 3pm under a strong police guard through a back entrance while demonstrators were trying to climb stairs to break into their campaign war-room and offices.

David Cameron was being kept informed in Seoul, South Korea. Party chairman Sayeeda Warsi planned to stay inside the building.

Earlier, students who broke into the foyer set off fire alarms, which caused internal fire doors to be unlocked automatically and provided them with greater access.

Around ten masked protesters made it to the top of Millbank Tower and unfurled a red banner as the thousands of students below cheered.

They included students from Goldsmiths College London who made it on to the roof and unfurled a banner saying 'Goldsmiths says no to cuts'.

The protestors made peace signs and waved to the crowds.

Police with riot shields arrived to protect the building but students managed to smash the large glass windows at the entrance. Some students turned away from the protest because they feared it was too violent.

One girl from Nottingham university said: "I was caught in the middle of the crowd and started panicking. They have made a big fire and I feel like things are getting out of control. I don't know what the police are doing."

At least one protester was arrested.

The disorderly scenes brought central London to a standstill and stopped workers getting in and out of the Millbank office block, of which the Tories occupy only a small part.

Organisers of today's main demonstration urged other students to continue with the planned route to little avail. One student, who was watching the violence, said: "Police are being hit with all the things students are throwing at them. They are hitting the windows and trying to smash them."

A flare was thrown by one protester towards Parliament, sending green smoke billowing into the air. One police officer was struck in the face with a sandbag. Although police vans were on stand-by near the Commons, the officers were outnumbered.

The protest seemed to have taken police by surprise and there were questions over why they did not intervene earlier to protect the Millbank property. There was no apparent intelligence that there would be trouble, and some speculated that "professional" agitators had joined the genuine students.

Earlier in the Commons, Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman had confronted Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg over the student fees rise, accusing him of betraying election pledges.

Students held banners reading "This is what democracy looks like" and "Clegg you sell out".

Dan Ashley, spokesman for University and College Union, which helped organise the march, said: "The turnout was unbelievable. Conservative estimates put it at 45,000. We were expecting 24,000 but this shows just how angry people are. The support is overwhelming."

Sally Hunt, general secretary of UCU, said: "It speaks volumes about the anger and concern of students and academics in further and higher education at what this government is trying to do."

Students burned the placards they were carrying alongside effigies of the Prime Minister. The National Union of Students insisted "rogue elements" were behind the storming of the Millbank building.

A spokesman said: "We have no idea who they are. We don't condone violence."

Around the makeshift bonfire, the protesters sang: "Build a bonfire, build a bonfire, put the Tories on the top. Put the Lib-Dems in the middle and burn the f***ing lot."

The Coalition is considering raising the maximum fees to £9,000, with wealthier graduates paying slightly more interest on their loans.

In the Commons, Mr Clegg defended the plan as a "fair and progressive solution to a very difficult problem".

Politics behind the protest

What are the Government's plans?

It wants to let universities charge up to £9,000 per year, up from current level of £3,290. Loans to students for fees would continue. The threshold at which graduates have to start paying their loans back would rise from £15,000 to £21,000.

What will happen to grants and loans?

Maintenance grants will rise from £2,906 to £3,250 for students from households earning less than £25,000 with partial grants available to those from households with incomes of £42,000, instead of the current cut-off point of £50,020.

When will the proposals take effect?

From September 2012. Students applying next year who defer entry to 2012 will have to pay the increased fees.

Will the Lib-Dems back the plan?

The Lib-Dems pledged to phase out tuition fees. Under the coalition agreement, they are permitted to abstain from any vote to raise fees. Several Lib- Dems have said they intend to vote against the proposal but the revolt is not likely to be big enough to block the plan.

What does the plan mean for students?

Those on three-year courses charged at £6,000 will leave university with about £30,000 of debt — if courses go up to £9,000, debts will be closer to £38,000.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in