Students defiant over bloody day of rioting

A STUDENT arrested when the tuition fees protest turned into a bloody riot defiantly declared yesterday he had “no regrets” over the violence.

Tuition fee demonstrator smashes glass at Tory HQ during the riot Tuition fee demonstrator smashes glass at Tory HQ during the riot

And academics at his college sparked outrage by supporting the troublemakers who stormed the Conservative party headquarters in London.

More than 40 police officers were injured and 50 people arrested when the protest was hijacked by a hard-core of activists intent on causing mayhem.

Yet last night Scotland Yard confirmed none of those arrested had been charged.

All have been bailed until February while 250 others were searched, photographed and released pending further inquiries, it emerged.

James Haywood was one of five students from Goldsmiths College in south East London detained by police after the shameful scenes.

Released on police bail yesterday, Mr Haywood, campaigns and communications officer for Goldsmiths student union, said: “I genuinely have no regrets about what happened.”

He said a number of “anarchists” had been present but added: “I have to say there were some, especially younger, students who were doing it.”

Lecturers at the college issued an extraordinary statement congratulating “the magnificent anti-cuts demonstration”.

The statement said: “The real violence in this situation relates not to a smashed window but to the destructive impact of the cuts and privatisation that will follow if tuition fees are increased and massive reductions in funding are implemented.” David Cameron condemned the violence saying last night that the rioters should face “the full force of the law”.

The Prime Minister praised “brave police officers”. But he said not enough officers had been on the scene and called for an urgent investigation. Mr Cameron said from the G20 summit in Seoul: “We need to make sure that behaviour does not go unpunished. I thought it was extremely serious.”

The violence followed what had begun as a peaceful protest by 50,000 demonstrators against higher university tuition fees organised by the National Union of Students. Tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused at Tory HQ after activists smashed windows. Dozens of computers were destroyed, furniture was smashed to matchwood and fire hoses were turned on.

The chaos almost ended in tragedy after a thug hurled a fire extinguisher from the roof of the eight-storey building towards the crowd below.

Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison said the empty canister had gone down the back of one officer’s helmet and grazed the knees of another before smashing into the ground.

Last night Peter Smyth, of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said the culprit should face serious criminal charges.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said police officers had come “perilously close” to being seriously injured.

Police are studying CCTV footage in a bid to identify the ringleaders behind the violence.

Sixth-form student Olivia Wedderburn, 18, was suspended from Esher College in Surrey for three days after storming the building.

Her father, Peter, 59, said at the family’s three-storey home in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey: “I think she has a right to stand up for herself, but I was concerned when it turned violent.

“The way she tells it to me was they broke the windows and the weight of the crowd behind her pushed her into the building.

“She was certainly not involved in any criminal damage or vandalism.”

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