Thousands of students headed to London Wednesday to march against cuts to higher education funding, as a huge police operation sought to head off any repeat of violent protests one year ago. Scotland Yard has deployed 4,000 officers to police the demonstration against cuts to university funding and a hike in tuition fees, which organisers expect about 10,000 students to attend. Police have been authorised to use plastic bullets if there is any repetition of last year’s violent demonstrations, which kicked off with an attack on Prime Minister David Cameron’s party headquarters on November 10.
The university students are planning to march to the City of London financial district, passing close to St Paul’s Cathedral, where anti-capitalism protesters have been camping out since mid-October. Police have insisted they do not believe it was “inevitable” that the protest would descend into the violence of a year ago when students ransacked the lobby of the tower block housing the Conservative party’s offices.