London students: Lib-Dems will pay 'heavy price' for U-turn on tuition fees

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Students who occupied Tory headquarters as protests turned violent pledged today to "break" the Liberal Democrats.

James Haywood of Goldsmiths students' union, who was arrested after yesterday's demonstration, said the junior Coalition partners would be targeted in the coming weeks.

Mr Haywood, the union's communication and campaigns officer, was one of the protesters who made it onto the roof of the Millbank building. He was released by police at 1.30am.

He said: "I think the occupation of Tory HQ was completely justified. It was incredible to get one over on the Tories. The damage plus vandalism was unfortunate, but when you have a government who are not listening to people this is what you have to expect.

"The Government are to blame. I am adamant that the overwhelming majority in the HQ were non-violent.

"The perception that the English just drink tea and do not protest is over. We occupied the heart of government. These people are responsible for damaging the futures of thousands. The damage done to their building is nothing in comparison."

He added: "We intend to break the back of the Lib-Dems in the coming weeks — we are going to make them pay a big political price.''

At least five students from Goldsmiths, part of the University of London, were arrested yesterday. Mr Haywood distanced the group from those who threw missiles and a fire extinguisher from the roof, saying: "There were a few idiots there. None of our lot."

Other students at the protest said they did not plan to occupy the building, but took advantage of the violence that erupted to drive home their opposition to rising tuition fees.

Many said they had never protested before and had no interest in radical politics. Hundreds of school pupils and university students surged into the building after windows were smashed, and more than 50 made it onto the roof. Most had been given the day off to attend what was expected to be a peaceful protest organised by the National Union of Students and the University and College Union, which represents lecturers.

Joseph Ford, 22, from Leeds University, told how he got into the lobby of Millbank: "I was in the courtyard when the windows started smashing and thought, wow, people are actually going to get into this building.

"It was pretty shocking. We moved forwards and there must have been about 20 police officers, which was completely insufficient for the thousands of students. It wasn't just a small minority. Yes, there were a few people who were inciting the window-smashing, but there was a crowd of 2,000 behind them cheering them on. I don't condone violence, but getting inside the building was a necessary evil."

Charlie Cooper, a 22-year-old at Goldsmiths, added: "I know several intelligent, gentle, thoughtful people who were among the first to step over the shattered glass at Millbank. They were not extremists, not radicals. Indeed some of them consider radical politics a bad joke. But they are people who sincerely believe that their government has steered tangibly away from a road they consider fair and right."

First on the roof was James Matthews, 20, who studies French and international relations at Leeds Met University. The member of the Revolution Socialist Youth unfurled a red banner. He said: "We got in through the door before windows had been smashed. It was spontaneous, there was no pre-planned violence. It was a lot of people's first demonstration and they hadn't been involved in this before, but they got into it."

A-level student Olivia Wedderburn, 18, from Esher College, who also got on the roof, added: "We were in the courtyard and people were smashing through the glass and saying Come in.' Then there was an opportunity to go up the stairs, so we thought, Oh we'll do that.' They were mainly young students, just a couple of older guys who looked like old-school anarchists."

Others who reached the roof included Kerry Arnold, 19, of the University of East London, and Laura McKenzie, a 22-year-old student journalist from Leeds. Ms Arnold said one of the people who entered with her was 16.

Ms McKenzie said: "I saw people going up the stairs and followed them easily. The police weren't stopping anybody."

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