U.K. students protest tuition hike

Vandalismbroke outas thousandsof students rallied in London on Wednesday to protest against government plans totriple tuition fees.

Someprotesters made their way into Millbank Tower, which houses theheadquarters of the governing Conservative Party. They smashed windows, trashed the lobby, spray-painted walls and set a few small fires outside the building. A group that reached the roof threw projectiles down at police and fellow protesters.

"We are destroying the building just like they are destroying our chances of affording higher education," said Corin Parkin, 20, a student at London's City University.

Police said eight people, a mix ofdemonstrators and police officers, were taken to hospitals with minor injuries. More than 30 people were arrested.

As darkness fellin theevening, police in riot gear retook the office tower and regained control of the streets.

Butlaw enforcerswere under scrutinyamid questions about whether they had enough officers on duty and how a march that began so peacefully descended into a fracas.

Organizers and many of the protesters condemned the vandalism.

"The actions of a minority, out of 50,000 people, is regrettable," said Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, a faculty group.

CBC's Tom Parry, reporting from London,said the protest started off peacefully by the Thames beforeit got ruinous.

"They're saying the protesters inside committing these acts don't really speak for that and the message they want is they don't want the government raising tuition fees, but they're worried that message is getting lost in the destruction," he said.

The British government plans to make cuts touniversities andtake the cap off tuition fees beginning in 2012, raising them to $14,000 a year from $4,800.

The tuitionincreases are part of plans to tackle the country's ballooningdeficit.The government recently announced major cuts across the board as it attempts to cut $128 billion from public expenditures over the next four years.