Students take part in Millbank Centre riots
Photo: Sam Newsome
Yesterday’s largely peaceful NUS protest has been overshadowed by the events at the Tory headquarters at 30 Millbank.
The protest started calmly, with ordered regional groups of universities lining Horse Guards Road. York students within the third section of the mark made themselves recognisable by orange placards, joining in with memorable chants such as ‘Nick Clegg, shame on you, shame on you for turning blue.’
Upon marching past the dual Millbank towers, a small fraction broke off from the march and commenced hammering on the door, led by anarchists and members of socialist movements. However, as attention was called to the Tory headquarters, more protesters ran over, chanting outside and helping attempts to break in.
YUSU President, Tim Ngwena has stated that: “it’s a shame that the actions of a few have tarnished the image of many students across the country. The march was mostly peaceful. It’s a shame the violence has taken the centre stage in media reports.”
A rousing speech by NUS President, Aaron Porter, called for continuing democratic action against cuts to eduction funding. Porter has today condemned the actions of rioters: “I think we have to accept that we have lost a lot of public sympathy and actually that does undermine our case.”
Photo: Charlotte Hogarth-Jones
At approximately 13.30 it became apparent that the flow of protesters into the area was slowing. The last seen entering the rally was a cohort from Sheffield University, meaning that less than a third of the march had reached its final point due to the actions taking place around the Millbank Centre.
Employees were seen watching the attempts from within the building, whilst a member of security staff used his body-weight to keep the transparent glass door shut. Panes of glass bent before the group broke through and proceeded to rush in. Furniture from the foyer was thrown outside and walls both in and outside of the Centre were graffitied with political slogans such as ‘Tory Scum’.
Two University of York students were captured on camera by national media outside the Millbank Centre holding one of YUSU’s demonstration banners. National footage suggests that they were not involved with vandalising the building, but were in the vicinity at that time.
NUS stewards attempted to hurry marchers past the building; with no police present until approximately 13.45. Thousands filled the courtyard, gathering around a large fire where effigies of David Cameron and Nick Clegg were burnt by student protesters.
Groups danced to dubstep music blasting from a protester’s boom box, while others watched from a distance, sitting on furniture taken from inside the building. One student shouted: “Come on, it’s a party!” In the Pizza Express restaurant adjacent to 30 Millbank, diners remained unperturbed.
Students burn placards outside the Millbank Centre. Photo: Sam Newsome
Small groups of riot police made several attempts to move between the crowd after 14.00, forcing political protesters and students aside with riot shields. Stewards told onlookers that the rally had ended, thirty minutes before the advertised time, requesting them to leave in vain. At this time, Nouse learnt that the march had been halted, due to many of the York students attending ‘D.E.M.O.lition’ having progressed no further than Big Ben, where students began a sit down outside the Houses of Parliament.
At 15.00, roars from the crowd drew attention to protesters occupying the roof of the Millbank Centre. Flags and banners draped over its sides conveyed messages from students, anarchists and socialist movements, as they waved down to those below.
Another York student who accessed the roof of the Millbank Centre but wished to remain anonymous commented: “Yesterday’s student reaction was scary. I was there, not involved with violence or destruction, but caught in the middle of the ‘demolition’, and I can tell you that it was exhilarating. Perhaps not in a positive sense, I never once smiled and thought ‘finally this will make the Government listen to us’, but my heart was certainly pumping a lot faster than usual; sticks being thrown at my head, and the aerial view from the roof of HQ of bonfires and committed anarchists was like a mild English homage to 1968 France.”
On another side of the building, riot vans congregated. A senior police officer ordered all other unarmed officers to withdraw from the building as they waited for the arrival of more riot police units. Employees from inside the building had already left by the rear entrance, and were escorted into a nearby hotel.
Protesters on the roof searched for an escape route as police moved into the building, leading some of the rioters down without arrest. At 15.45 one Nouse correspondent was pushed off a flight of steps as a column of officers charged to the front of Millbank. In anger, some protesters threw placards and broken sticks.
Protesters reach the top of the Millbank Centre. Photo: Sam Newsome
In the face of the impassioned collective, riot police retreated to form a line in front of vans, chased by protesters launching missiles. Some hit fellow protesters and members of the press. Onlookers expressed disapproval, with one female student shouting “stop being violent!” at a masked protester. Members of socialist movements used their megaphones to calm the crowd.
Two students led a group of twenty to sit down in front of the police line. A participant from Sheffield University stated: “I’m here because what the government is doing isn’t fair. I voted for the first time in May for the Lib Dems and this isn’t what I voted for. They’ve betrayed us. We can’t let them get away with it.”
One protester with a bandana tied around his mouth slit the tyres of the nearest police van, with the slogan ‘you’ll get cut too’ written on the back window. As riot police withdrew, an officer commented “no, this is not an average day.”
Protesters from inside the building told Nouse that the police were containing rioters on floors that had been vandalised. One female, who described herself as an anarchist, declared her support for the violence. “The government have been taking away our civil liberties for too long. They don’t listen to peaceful protest. Direct action is the only way.”
Despite the unrest, the group’s sentiment was that of resistance to education cuts and rising tuition fees. Music and dancing continued throughout the confrontation as the protesters ignored the police presence.
Shortly after riot police began moving through the crowds, a female student emerged with a head injury. Blood ran down her face as she was carried to the side of the building by two police officers. An accompanying friend screamed “what have you done?” at the officers detaining her. Given a bandage by paramedics at the scene, she left with her friends about five minutes later.
Students and protesters began to leave the site by 17.00, “because we’re getting bored,” explained a young woman who wished to remain anonymous. “Nothing is happening. We’re not afraid of the police.”
One of the remaining students from London Southbank University said: “I want to see if anything kicks off. I need to know what’s going on, but I wouldn’t be the one doing it. We’re angry, we’re very angry. People will call us hooligans, but they aren’t the people we’re talking to.”
An explosion, which Nouse believes to have been caused by an aerosol can, saw protesters running away. Repeated calls of “Parliament Square!” revealed their relocation to a more peaceful destination.
A student who did not wish to disclose their educational institution commented: “This is only a building. Buildings don’t have feelings. But we do. And we are sending a message.”
Additional reporting by Samuel Partridge.
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“National footage suggests that they were not involved with vandalising the building, but were in the vicinity at that time.”
I think you mean “National footage *doesn’t* suggest that they were involved with vandalising the building”, unless you’ve seen a significantly longer version of the (at most) 10 second extract the BBC keep showing? The footage doesn’t implicate them, but it doesn’t absolve them either.
Does anyone know what students were arrested for being involved in any violence or vandalism, what university were they from? And what were they studying? More reports say that 35 ‘people’ were arrested but no mention of students
Contrary to popular opinion, I would like to say a big Hurrah and well done to the rioters at Millwall. Without them this protest would have faded into the same obscurity with the same non-result as the anti war protests of 2003.
It may still have that result, but it does show that people are REALLY pissed off about this, and not just “I’m so damn angy, I think I’ll write a stronly worded letter” pissed off.
Don’t hold back and give the Tory b*****ds what for.
G; you’re absolutely right.
The protest has made people wake up and has brought the student cause centrefold.
Now people think we’re a bunch of thugs that like throwing fire extinguishers off the roofs of buildings, which one can only surmise was intended to kill or seriously injure a police officer.
Well done you imbecile.
I don’t remember students attacking Labour HQ when tuition fees were brought in, which is surely when student finance started the slide into the current situation.
Also, if these goons were genuinely angry and wanted to get press coverage, why not go on a hunger strike or scale restricted buildings in funny outfits like Fathers4Justice did? That would bring plenty of media attention.
But no. Much more fun to wrap a hankerchief over your face and pretend like your a freedom fighter by terrorizing people and destroying property.
Until you grow up a bit and starting acting like responsible human beings, you don’t deserve to be heard.
Confused, I enjoyed your satire as a Tory embarrassed that their HQ got trashed. Although you went a bit too far with the hunger striking, real Tories would not encourage this after the 1981.
They will also have to get used to more of this once the cuts start to kick in. The ill and disabled can’t protest like this for themselves, so hopefully students will do it for them.
This made a big point to a lot of people.
However, I don’t condone violence or destruction of property.
Millwall?!
Just like to point out that the tuition fee rise is as a result of a cross-party review launched by Labour, not the Tories. Labour would have done it as well.
On another note, instead of making the English pay more, why not make the Scots and the Welsh, actually pay?
We can’t do that. The Scottish generally need more money than English people do because that’s where the majority of Labour supporters live.
Firstly a disclaimer – Taking this comment down would be utterly hypocritical of you, as you so value freedom of speech in the media when it comes to the UGM articles.
Nouse. You have utterly butchered this article. This does not represent the opinion of the original or what actually happened at the protest. Furthermore, when you first edited this, you filled it with mistakes and it is still filled with mistakes. The writer has expressed her opinion for her name to be removed – And for the record, google ‘Lizzie Dearden’, you might find she has a lot more experience in journalism already than all of you put together.
they say their vandalism has lost sympathy with the general public, but i say bulls**t.
more vandalism i say.
it’s been 10 years coming.
the battered wife (the people) finally sticking it to her husband (the government)
I think direct action is the way forward, but I really don’t condone violence.
If that fire extinguisher had hit and killed someone, people would certainly not be praising this.
The only disappointing thing about this was that they didn’t have the idea of burning Lib Dumb HQ to the ground.
Even better if with Clegg, Alexander, Huhne, “Dr.” Cable, Sarah “Frogwoman” Teather et al had been inside.