Post date: Dec 10, 2010 11:53:42 AM
Protesters attacked government buildings and damaged a car carrying Prince Charles after parliament voted to raise fees paid by university students in a vote which divided Britain's coalition government.
LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (DECEMBER 9, 2010) REX FEATURES - Police promised an investigation on Friday (December 10) after Prince Charles was caught up in London's worst riots in years as student protests over a rise in fees boiled over.
Student leaders called for more demonstrations, even though parliament narrowly passed the controversial
increase on Thursday (December 9) in a vote which divided the coalition government.This was the first serious test of the coalition's determination to push through unpopular measures to reduce Britain's record peacetime budget deficit.
The decision to raise the cap on tuition fees almost threefold provoked a serious rebellion among legislators for the centre-left Liberal Democrats, the smaller coalition partner, but Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable said the government would emerge stronger.
Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the violence and expressed concern about a serious lapse in royal security which allowed a limousine carrying Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, to be surrounded by protesters.
Their car was spattered with paint and a window was cracked, but the couple were unhurt, though clearly alarmed.
Cameron said a significant number of demonstrators were bent on violence and destroying property and the "full force of the law" would be brought down on them.
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the capital's streets on Thursday, in the latest of a series of protests. Protesters clashed with riot police, laid siege to the finance ministry and broke windows.
At least eight police officers and 13 protesters were injured and 34 protesters were arrested, police said.
Analysts say the seven-month-old coalition will hold together, but could come under increasing strain as cuts bite harder next year.
London police chief Paul Stephenson said police had checked the route minutes before the royal couple arrived but the situation had changed quickly.
He promised a "full criminal investigation" into what he called a "hugely shocking incident" as well as investigations of crimes by protesters and any complaints against police.
Clare Solomon, president of the University of London Union, blamed the trouble on provocation by "a violent minority within the police force".