Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Anti-austerity protesters accuse police of 'violence' after 15 arrested near Downing Street

Police arrested 15 people and several officers were injured in clashes

Monday 11 May 2015 11:36 BST

Protesters and police faced off at the gates of Downing Street on 9 May (Reuters)

Police have arrested 15 people, including a 16-year-old boy, following angry anti-austerity protests near Downing Street that saw a war memorial vandalised.

Thousands of people marched to the Prime Minister’s official residence on Saturday in the wake of the Conservatives’ unexpected election victory, which paved the way for another £12 billion of welfare cuts.

Mostly peaceful protesters held placards reading “I pledge to resist” and “stop the cuts”, while shouting anti-Conservative and ant-cuts chants.

Hundreds of people marched from the Conservative Party’s headquarters, where David Cameron hailed his victory last week, and ended near Number 10, where tensions started to rise between protesters and riot police.

Smoke bombs, traffic cones and missiles were thrown at officers blocking the way, armed with batons.

Masked demonstrators could be seen struggling with police over metal crowd barriers and the crowd was eventually “kettled”.

Anti-Tory protesters took to Westminster two days after the election (PA)

Several protesters were said to be injured, as were four police officers and a member of police staff. Two were being treated in hospital and Scotland Yard said the three others were “assaulted” but not seriously wounded.

The protests appeared to be largely spontaneous, with no one group appearing to take charge of organisation.

Members of the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) said there were 3,000 demonstrators at the peak and accused police of using excessive force after protesters claimed they were “beaten with batons, choked, punched, and thrown to the floor”.

The group quoted Georgie Robertson, co-president of the School of Oriental and African Studies’ student union, as saying she was kettled alongside peaceful protesters and unwitting tourists for more than three hours.

Protesters complained of 'police brutality'

“The tactics of the police today show that they are scared of the fact the people are mobilising immediately and want to stop us from escalating,” she added.

Daphne Wikken, a 22-year-old student at the London School of Economics, claimed she witnessed “police violence”.

“My legs are bruised everywhere and I cut my arm,” she told the group. “For me what is particularly scary is the fact that the government is already cracking down on dissent so badly just days after the general election.”

All but one of 15 people arrested have been bailed, police said as they continued to investigate who sprayed “f*** Tory scum” on the Women of World War II monument in Whitehall.

Graffiti on The Women of World War II monument outside of Downing Street, London, following an anti-austerity protest (PA)

A spokesperson for Downing Street called it “a despicable display of disrespect for those who fought and died for their country, particularly at a time when the whole nation comes together to commemorate the 70th anniversary of VE Day”.

The vandalism sparked outrage on the eve of nationwide commemorations to mark the end of the Second World War in Europe.

Chief Superintendent Gerry Campbell, from the Metropolitan Police, said: “The vast majority of those protesting did so peacefully.

"However a small minority were intent on causing disorder and engaged in violence, injuring five officers and staff - two of which required hospital treatment. Our best wishes are with those officers and staff at this time.

The Tory victory has already sparked protests in London (Getty Images)

"We have launched an investigation into criminal damage to the Women in World War II Memorial. This is particularly abhorrent considering we are celebrating the 70th anniversary of VE Day.”

A dozen people were detained on suspicion of violent disorder and three for assault on police, including a 24-year-old man still in custody.

Acting Commander Colin Morgan said police were aware of potential demonstrations and a number of separate groups had been “monitored” as they moved around Westminster on Saturday afternoon.

“During the course of the evening, the protest in Downing Street became larger and more disorderly,” he added. “A number of protesters engaged in violent disorder and, in a quick response to this escalation, at 6.17pm a containment was put in place to prevent any further breach of the peace.

Police eventually kettled protesters in Downing Street

"We respect the right of people to protest peacefully, while we must also balance the need for Londoners and visitors to go about their business - and for events such as this weekend's VE Day celebrations to be held safely.”

In Cardiff, singer Charlotte Church joined a similar rally that saw hundreds of people protest at the Aneurin Bevan statue in Queen Street, where she was pictured carrying a placard which read: “I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore.”

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

Show all 8

1/8What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

Welfare payments will be slashed

One of the most controversial parts of the Conservative manifesto was to cut benefits for the working age poor by £12 bn over the next three years. But during the campaign they only said where £2 bn of these savings would come from. That leaves £10 bn still to find. Some experts think the only way they can close that gap is by means testing child benefit – with millions of families losing out

Getty

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be tax cuts for those in work and those who die

The Tories will increase the threshold at which the 40p rate of tax becomes payable to £50,000 by 2020. They haven’t said so but it is also likely that at some point in the next five years they will abolish that 45p rate of tax altogether for the highest earners. They also want to increase the effective inheritance tax threshold for married couples and civil partners to £1m

Getty

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be an in/out EU referendum in 2017

The next two years are going to be dominated by the prospect of a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. First off David Cameron has the daunting task of negotiating a deal with other EU leaders an acceptable deal that he can sell to his party so he can go into the referendum campaigning for a ‘yes’ vote. This may be unachievable and it is possible that the Tories may end up arguing to leave. Opinion polls show Britain is divided on EU membership, one poll this year showed 51% said they would opt to leave compared to 49% who would vote to stay in

Getty

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be more privatisation of the NHS

Having won the election the Tories now have a mandate to go further and faster reforming the NHS. In order to make cost savings there is likely to be greater private involvement in running services, while some smaller hospitals may lose services they currently provide like A&E and maternity units

Getty

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be many more free schools – and traditional state schools will become a thing of the past

The Tories plans to create 500 new free schools and make 3,000 state schools become academies. They will also carry on reforming the Department of Education and remove more powers from local authorities over how schools are run

Getty

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

On shore wind farms will be a thing of the past and fracking will be the future

Government spending on renewable energy is under real threat now the Lib Dems are no longer in power with the Tories. Subsidies are likely to be slashed for off-shore wind farm and other green energy supplies. Meanwhile there will be generous tax break for fracking as ministers try and incentivise the industry to drill for onshore oil and gas

Getty

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There maybe more free childcare – but not necessarily

In the campaign the Tories pledged to double the amount of free early education for three- and four-year-olds from 15 hours a week to 30. The extra hours would only be offered to working families where parents are employed for at least eight hours a week. However they have not said where the money will come from to fund the pledge

Getty

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

Workers' rights could be reduced

The Tories want to slash business regulation, merge regulator and cut costs. The Lib Dems stopped them from reducing the employment rights of workers in power – but these are now under threat

Getty

A protest called “Stop the Tory coup” organised by campaign group The People’s Assembly had been scheduled for Saturday but was cancelled after the Conservatives unexpectedly won a working majority on Thursday.

Instead, they are planning an “End Austerity Now” demonstration outside the Bank of England on 20 June. More than 42,000 people have already pledged to attend on Facebook.

Additional reporting by PA