Students protest in London, Conservative HQ attacked
A group of demonstrators broke into the headquarters of Britain’s governing Conservative Party in London on Wednesday, spray-painting anarchy symbols and setting off flares before being forced out of the building.
They went on to set fires outside the building.
The violence came during a largely peaceful protest by students against government plans to allow universities to increase tuition fees. The National Union of Students said 40,000 demonstrators were on the streets.
Extra police officers were sent to deal with the violence, London’s Metropolitan Police said.
Eight people suffered minor injuries in the protests and were taken to hospitals, police said. The injured included both police and protesters.Police did not have immediate information about arrests.
Students and university staff are protesting against government plans to allow universities to charge up to 9,000 pounds (about $14,500) per year in tuition fees — a substantial rise from the current cap.
“We are taking to the streets in unprecedented numbers to tell politicians that enough is enough,” National Union of Students President Aaron Porter said in a statement before the demonstration.
“We will not tolerate the previous generation passing on its debts to the next, nor will we pick up the bill to access a college and university education that was funded for them,” he said.