Fifteen people have been arrested as students protest over the increase of University fees in the UK. Eight people have been arrested for violent disorder, two for arson, two for assault on police, one for criminal damage, one for being drunk and disorderly and one for theft.
Scotland Yard have said that 43 protesters and 12 police officers have been injured. Six officers required hospital treatment and four suffered minor injuries.
Scotland Yard have said that 'this has nothing to do with peaceful protest. Students are involved in wanton vandalism, including smashing windows in Oxford and Regent Streets.'
'Innocent Christmas shoppers are being caught up in the violence and disruption. It has gone so far that a car in which the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were travelling through the West End was attacked. Police managed the situation and they were unharmed.'
Meanwhile, the British Government has won a crucial Commons vote on raising the upper level of tuition fees to £9,000 as protests took place on the streets of London.
The debate on the measure exposed deep divisions in the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition.
MPs voted 323 votes to 302 - a majority of 21 - in favour of the motion despite vocal opposition from some Lib Dems and a handful of Tory MPs.
Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable said he was 'proud' of the Government's package, which will allow English universities to treble fees from 2012.
Mr Cable insisted the plan was 'progressive' and would 'maintain high quality universities in the long term'.
The vote followed a fractious five-hour debate and took place as protestors opposed to the rise in fees clashed with police in front of the Houses of Parliament.
At one point, protestors attempted to smash down a metal fence around the parliament and hurl sections of it at officers.
Flares, sticks and glass bottles were thrown at police and their horses as they struggled to hold the lines.
Despite a series of last-minute concessions by the government, up to half of the Liberal Democrats' 57 lawmakers were expected to rebel against the proposals, which amount to a reversal of one of the party's most cherished policies.
Although the size of the government's majority in the House of Commons saw the measure passed, the issue has put huge strain on the administration formed after the May election.
The Lib Dems, led by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, made a pledge to phase out tuition fees altogether as a central plank of his election manifesto.
However, in forming a coalition with the Conservatives of Prime Minister David Cameron, the Lib Dems performed a U-turn on the issue, to the horror of students and many within the party itself.
Meanwhile, eight people were arrested after a student protest in Belfast.
Three officers suffered what were believed to be minor injuries.
Around 200 people took part in what was a largely peaceful event, until the crowd blocked the main route in front of city hall.
The roadblock caused traffic jams and police moved in when the demonstrators failed to disperse.
Bottles and other missiles were thrown at officers, but more serious violence was avoided.
