THE BUILD-UP
Aaron Porter: I was summoned to a meeting at Downing Street with David Cameron. He told me that the government would be lifting the fees cap. I told them that the NUS would be in opposition, and they should expect protests.The Browne Review is published on the 12th of October. It recommends removing the existing cap on tuition fees.
Aaron Porter: My instinct before then had been to try and negotiate with the government. But when they announced that it was going to be 9k, it was easy. We ran out of road. We had to protest.Thomas Barlow: The buses kept filling up. People couldn't get buses fast enough.On the 3rd of November, the government announces that tuition fees will rise to £9,000 yearly.
The 10th of November, 2010. Police expect 5,000 protesters at a central London march. Between 30,000 and 50,000 turn up.
Thomas Barlow: I saw it dropped. There was a big scream. He'd been waving it around, shooting gas out of the thing. I don't think he meant to drop it. It was heavy and slippery.Roger Gomm: He could have killed someone. We arrested him. It's not in my nature to say this, but I did feel sorry for him. He got caught up in the excitement and didn't think.Thomas Barlow: I ended up in the garage underneath Millbank. It was full of fancy cars. By this point, all these sixth formers had found their way into the garage. Those cars got absolutely fucking trashed. It was glorious. But by then I was exhausted. I got out of it.Belinda Edney: I was coming down the stairs when I got stopped by police. I remember a policeman trying to barge this girl. He pushed her hard, but she didn't fall over. Then the police held a bunch of us in the lobby for a long time. Because I refused to accept a caution, I was taken to Charing Cross station. They didn't interview me until 2AM, and then released me on bail the following day.A protester, Edward Woollard, drops a fire extinguisher from the roof. It narrowly avoids hitting a group of police officers below.
Aaron Porter: My view was that if we wanted to stop the government, we needed public support. We'd lose public support if we were seen to be causing criminal damage. So I distanced the NUS from the Millbank protesters. That became a bit of a dividing line within the NUS.Aaron Porter gives an interview with the BBC, denouncing the Millbank occupation.
The 24th of November, 2010. Protesters march from Trafalgar Square to Whitehall, amid a heavy police presence. At Whitehall, protesters are kettled by police.
Jonathan Moses: We sent one person in to hold the room and gathered everyone in the quad. The uni thought we were going to be having a demo, but we'd been planning the occupation. I gave a speech and then said, "Let's do a tour of campus!" Everyone started sprinting to the room. When we were in we had a vote on whether or not to occupy it. It was unanimous. Occupation it was.At UCL, between 200 to 300 students occupy the Jeremy Bentham room in protest.
Rory Evans: There was this abandoned police van in the middle of Whitehall where everyone was being kettled, which looked old and crap. It got smashed up and broken into, and people were climbing on top of it with masks on. I always remember finding that suspect. It seemed really weird. Why would you leave a police van where people were going to be kettled? My gut feeling was that it had been planned.Andy: Rumours were spread among police that the van had been left there tactically. I wouldn't rule it out. People were attracted to it like a honey pot. You could see them committing offences.At Whitehall, an abandoned police van becomes a focal point for protesters – and media coverage.
The 9th of December, 2010. The day of the vote. Protesters are kettled in Parliament Square. There are confrontations between protesters and riot police, some on horseback.
Jade French, then a student at Queen Mary, University of London: It felt we were being kettled all day. I was standing next to a pregnant woman, and the police wouldn't let her out to use the toilet. I remember thinking that was wrong. It was quite a panicky feeling – you couldn’t move, it was claustrophobic. Being told you're not allowed to leave, even though you really want to. It was demeaning. People were having to wee behind buildings. There were no toilets. It felt so unfair.Meanwhile, protesters in Parliament Square are being kettled by police.
Andy: I hadn't seen police horses charge since the May Day riots. Being in that line and hearing the clopping down the street, you did get nervous.Thomas Barlow: I was there when the police charged. It was fucking scary. They’re horses. They’re huge.Chris Donaldson: It got violent. They were throwing things at us.Shiv Malik: It was brutalising. I got hit by a copper over the head with a baton. I didn't realise I was bleeding until my jumper was wet with blood.Word reaches protesters that the bill has passed. Violence breaks out.
Thomas Barlow: I broke away from the madness and went on a run. People were trying to set the Christmas tree near Parliament alight. I ended up in the West End. People were surrounding this car, shouting, "It's fucking Prince Charles and Camilla!" Charles wound down the window slightly to see what was going on, and people were shouting their heads off. He wound his window back up.Protests break out across central London. A car carrying Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall is attacked.
Shiv Malik: That night was horrific. I did the follow-up reporting. There were moments people nearly died, being crushed in the kettle on the bridge. You could hear people screaming. The cops were crushing them from both sides.Protesters are forced onto Westminster Bridge, where they are kettled late into the night, in the freezing cold.