371 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
371 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
news
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uknews
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8199373
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# Tuition fee protesters 'infiltrated by gangs', says Theresa May
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## Police believe that crowds of students protesting about tuition fees last
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week were infiltrated by ''organised groups of hardcore activists and street
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gangs bent on violence'', Home Secretary Theresa May said.
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TelegraphPlayer-8199373
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4:48PM GMT 13 Dec 2010
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[Comments][1]
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Mrs May said that police had already received a good public response to the
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publication of photos of suspected ringleaders and she expected significant
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numbers of arrests.
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Some 35 people were arrested on Thursday as the demonstration against the
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tripling in university tuition fees descended into scenes of violence across
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central London, including an attack on a car containing the Prince of Wales
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and Duchess of Cornwall.
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Following speculation that Camilla was struck by a stick pushed through the
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window of the royal couple's car, Mrs May confirmed that ''there was some
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contact made''.
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Earlier Charlie Gilmour, the son of Pink Floyd frontman David, was released on
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bail after being arrested by Scotland Yard on suspicion of violent disorder
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and attempted criminal damage of the Union flag on the Cenotaph during the
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protests.
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The Home Secretary called on student leaders unequivocally to condemn the
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''appalling'' scenes of violence, and told the House of Commons: ''This
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Government is determined to protect the right to peaceful protest, but
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violence is unacceptable and the perpetrators of that violence must be brought
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to justice.''
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Related Content
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* ## [Son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour admits student protest
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rampage][2]
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While some students had behaved ''disgracefully'', it was clear that many of
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those committing acts of violence were ''organised thugs'', she told MPs.
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Shadow home secretary Ed Balls also condemned the violence seen on Thursday,
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but also stressed that Labour MPs ''share the dismay and anger and injustice
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felt by hundreds of thousands of students and young people at the deeply
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unfair hike in tuition fees and the abolition of Education Maintenance
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Allowances''.
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Mr Balls urged Mrs May to shelve a cost-cutting review of royal security which
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he said was on her desk, at a time of increasing threats and in the run-up to
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the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton next spring.
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And he called for her to commission a wider review of the current level of
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threat and the arrangements for the security of the Royal Family.
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More than 30 police officers were injured last Thursday as protesters hurled
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bottles, stones, paint, golf balls, snooker balls and flares and used metal
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crush barriers as weapons, said Mrs May.
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Six officers required hospital treatment, all of whom have been released.
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Meanwhile, an Independent Police Complaints Commission inquiry has been
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launched into the injuries sustained by a protester who required surgery to
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his brain.
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Referring to the violence committed by protesters, Mrs May told MPs: ''It is
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quite clear that these acts were not perpetrated by a small minority but by a
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significant number of trouble makers.
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''Some students behaved disgracefully but the police also assess that the
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protesters were infiltrated by organised gangs of hardcore activists and
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street gangs bent on violence.
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''Evidence from the other recent protests shows that many of those committing
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violence were organised thugs as well as students. It is highly likely that
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this was also the case last week.
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''I want to be absolutely clear - the blame for the violence lies squarely and
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solely with those that carried it out. The idea that police tactics ... were
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to blame when people came armed with sticks, flares, fireworks, stones and
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snooker balls is as ridiculous as it is unfair.''
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With more student protests expected when the House of Lords debate tuition
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fees tomorrow, the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers said
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that the use of water cannon was inappropriate to deal with demonstrations of
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the kind seen last week.
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''They are a blunt instrument,'' Sir Hugh Orde told the BBC Radio 4 Today
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programme.
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''The tactics used over the last week have been that small groups of very
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violent people have embedded themselves in large groups of very peaceful
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people and to try to use water cannon in that situation would be very
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difficult and would upset an awful lot of people.''
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But an Acpo spokesman made clear that the use of water cannon had not been
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ruled out for the future.
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The spokesman said: ''The Acpo manual on public order includes a full range of
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tactical options including water cannons and others more common to UK public
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order events, such as cordons and mounted police.
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''All are open to public order commanders against principles of
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proportionality and necessary use of force. The key is employing the tactic
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appropriate to each situation. That is for ground commanders to judge.''
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Gilmour, 21, was arrested at his family home in Sussex yesterday by officers
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from the Metropolitan Police and was taken to a Sussex police station where he
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was also questioned on suspicion of theft.
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The Cambridge University student issued a public apology after being
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identified as one of those who climbed on the Cenotaph, the nation's monument
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to its war dead, as thousands of youngsters vented their fury over the
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decision by MPs to treble university fees to a maximum of £9,000 a year.
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A Metropolitan Police spokesman said Gilmour was bailed until a date in June
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pending further inquiries.
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infiltrated-by-gangs-says-Theresa-May.html
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Telegraph
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## [UK News][8]
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* ### [News »][9]
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[In UK News »][8]
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[![US President Barack Obama's state visit to Britain: day two in
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pictures][14] ][15]
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### [Obamas visit Britain: day two][15]
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[![US President Barack Obama's state visit to Britain: security and
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protests][16] ][17]
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### [Obama: security and protests][17]
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[![Queen Elizabeth II and US President Barack Obama during a State Banquet in
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][21] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][22]
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Related Video
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[![][23] ][24]
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### [May faces questions over injured student][24]
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14 Dec 2010
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[![Police pull student protester from wheelchair][25] ][26]
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### [Police pull protester from wheelchair][26]
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13 Dec 2010
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[![Officer filmed fainting after blow to the head][27] ][28]
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### [Police officer collapses after blow to the head][28]
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13 Dec 2010
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[![New student protest footage][29] ][30]
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### [Police release protest footage][30]
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13 Dec 2010
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[![A car carrying the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall has been
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attacked by protesters amid worsening violence that has followed victory for
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the Government in the crucial tuition fees vote. ][31] ][32]
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### [New footage of attack on Royal car emerges][32]
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10 Dec 2010
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[![][33] ][34]
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### [Forward... unto death][34]
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10 Dec 2010
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[1]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8199373/Tuition-fee-protesters-
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infiltrated-by-gangs-says-Theresa-May.html#disqus_thread
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[2]: /news/uknews/crime/8497798/Son-of-Pink-Floyd-guitarist-David-Gilmour-
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admits-student-protest-rampage.html
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[27]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01784/Officer_filmed_fai_
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