More than 250,000 people have attended a march and rally in central London against public spending cuts.
Labour leader Ed Miliband addressed crowds in Hyde Park and the main march organised by the Trades Union Congress passed off peacefully.
But small groups attacked shops and banks with a stand-off in Piccadilly. There have been 202 arrests and 35 people injured, including five police.
Ministers say the cuts are necessary to get the public finances in order.
In the largest public protest since the Iraq war rally in 2003, marchers from across the UK set off from Victoria Embankment to Hyde Park, where TUC general secretary Brendan Barber was first in a line of speakers.
"We are here to send a message to the government that we are strong and united," he said.
"We will fight the savage cuts and we will not let them destroy peoples' services, jobs and lives."
Education Secretary Michael Gove said he could understand the disquiet and anger.
"But the difficulty that we have as the government inheriting a terrible economic mess is that we have to take steps to bring the public finances back into balance," he said.
Mr Miliband is attending the march but is yet to sketch out an alternative, he added.
Matthew Sinclair, director of the Taxpayers' Alliance which lobbies for lower taxes and greater government efficiency, said: "It's understandable that people feel upset...
"But in the end it's not valid and what politicians should be doing is not encouraging this rally but saying look, you've got to be more realistic about the options facing this country."
Continue reading - BBC - Anti-cuts march: Tens of thousands at London protest
Tens of thousands join London protest
Protest in UK over spending cuts
Protesters break into bank, clash with cops as London march turns violent
Police battle to restore order in central London
Video of thousands in London protest march as paint bombs, flares fly
No comments:
Post a Comment