Free education protest: Students bombard Parliament Square in UK

Protesting students in the UK have flooded into the Parliament square after forcefully pushing through and tearing down a roadside barrier set up by police.

The protesters.... Photo: Matt Dunham/AP

The Telegraph UK reports that many of the protesters were dressed in black with their hoods up and red flares were set off outside the Houses of parliament.

The students are fighting for a return to free education. The Telegraph quotes Organiser, Aaron Kiely, from the Student Assembly Against Austerity and a member of the NUS national executive, as saying: "We want to end the lifetime of debt which is a massive burden for students.

"Students are really angry because we go to university and then at the end of it we get an average of £40,000-worth of debt. That puts you in a hell of a difficult position when you start to think about a mortgage and a family. We need an alternative."

The report reads further: “Protesters, many of them shouting "Whose streets? Our streets! Whose Uni? Our uni!" then poured into the square holding signs, banners and flags.

Thousands of students from across the country were descending on central London to plead with politicians to end the "chain" of high tuition fees and student debt.

The army of student activists, led by the organisation Student Assembly Against Austerity, gathered outside the University of London near Euston before marching towards Whitehall and the House of Commons.

Hundreds carried placards and banners protesting against high fees, chanting "When they say cut back, we say fight back", and "No ifs, no buts, no education cuts".