Student protests – as they happened

10.24am: So here we are. Today is the crunch day, when tens of thousands of students and pupils (and some lecturers) find out whether the weeks of mass protest have paid off, whether enough opinion in parliament has been swayed.

An estimated 40,000 people are expected to rally in central London on two separate marches, one organised by the NUS and another by the University of London Union. Another big crowd is expected at the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh for a rally and "candlelit vigil".

The politics side of things is being handled by our Westminster live blogger supreme, Andrew Sparrow. But I'll be looking at the protests. We'll have reporters at the rallies but still want to hear from you what's happening – news and photos. Keep in touch.

10.39am: So what's happening when today? In London, the ULU/National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts march will leave the ULU building in Bloomsbury around midday, setting off through Holborn and Trafalgar Square and past Parliament Square, to then join the NUS rally on Victoria Embankment, which is itself scheduled for 1pm to 3pm. In Edinburgh the rally takes place at 4.30pm.

So what of timings inside parliament itself? It's maybe easiest if I quote Andrew's blog directly:

MPs are going to be asked to approve a motion tabled by Vince Cable, the business secretary, allowing universities to increase tuition fees to up to £9,000 from September 2012. Under the Higher Education Act, this can be done with a simple vote. Ministers want to get this through now because universities will send their brochures out for 2012 next year. MPs are not voting on the entire package of tuition fee reforms. That will not happen until next year....

The debate will start after business questions ends. This could be any time from 12.10pm to 12.30pm. The first vote will take place five hours later, or by 5.30pm at the latest.

10.53am:The intrepid Adam Gabbatt is out and about and tweets that there are already "scores" of police around Westminster. The Metropolitan police have made some bullish noises about the possibility of trouble today, a slightly alarmist message reflected in parts of the media. It would be a shame if, once again, the actions of a very small minority was allowed to obscure the reason for the marches, and what they've achieved.

It seems likely the tuition fees bill will pass but I'd still argue that – whatever your view on the merits of the new fees system – the protests have been a success at least in calling politicians to account for broken pledges, something you see rarely theses days.

11.05am: And now to one of the more relevant questions if you're facing the possibility of being kettled for some hours – what's the weather going to be like? Well, after the freezing recent days it's going to feel positively tropical. Both London and Edinburgh are forecast to swelter in temperatures peaking around 4C, with a good amount of sunshine. Still wrap up warm, mind.

11.08am: On that very subject, the Guardian's Esther Addley – also heading out in London – tweets:

Have dressed for a kettling at #demo2010. look a bit silly. also, currently indoors, sweating.

11.16am: Here's a brief selection of light reading as you wait to take to the streets:
Nick Clegg has made himself even less popular with opponents of fees ths morning by calling them "dreamers".
"Today is our 1968 moment" says UCL's Michael Chessum on our very own Comment is Free site.
Even the Daily Mail thinks that whatever the outcome of today's vote, "it is surely clear that the Lib Dems in general and Nick Clegg in particular have suffered dreadful damage from which it is ­possible they may never recover".

11.25am: Adam Gabbatt writes, also tweeting a photo of some serious-looking barriers around Parliament Square.

I've just been to Westminster to have a look at the police preparations for later today. There are scores of officers, clad in their hi-vis gear, around the area, all the way from Portcullis House east of Parliament to the west. Portcullis House, parliament's modern overspill building, is lined with four-sided fence structures most commonly seen keeping revellers away from the stage at music festivals.
There are more than 20 large police vans flanking the seat of democracy, with more arriving. If organisers predictions are accurate then some 40,000 students could gather near Westminster from 1pm. Weather report: not as cold as it has been recently, although I'm still glad of my thermals.

11.33am: It's worth recalling that a number of campus occupations are still ongoing. Shiv Malik emails with news of the long-running action at University College London:

Occupying students at UCL are still in last minute negotiations with their chancellor's office after a court awarded management a possession order today. The students who began their occupation two weeks ago could face eviction at any moment from the 200 capacity Jeremy Bentham Room and the Slade art college. However, the students successfully defended a claim for possession over the entirety of UCL's Gower Street campus. It is possible that occupation could relocate to another part of the campus and the whole process of eviction would have to start again but this is unlikely as students are worried about the issue of costs.
Quite cleverly Judge Faber, sitting at London County Court decided to defer the issue of costs until the 23 December. That's the deadline for the university to return to the court. So if the students behave badly, then the two named defendants, Sarah Crane-Brewer and Frank Harris both aged 19, could be billed for up to £40,000.
At the moment, the only sticking issue is the wording of a joint statement condemning university cuts. Last night this seemed to be up in the air as students wanted to press for both anti-fees and anti arts cuts statements, whereas management were naturally reluctant to condemn fee increases.
The latest draft sent by management would certainly act as another thorn in the government's side if the students can agree a finalised statement before the fees debate begins in earnest in a few hours.
"This removal of funding is unprecedented, as is the lack of significant public debate. At best it takes a huge risk with higher education institutions in the UK...
"At best [these cuts] take a huge risk with higher education institutions in the UK, the teaching activities of which make a vital contribution to society and to the economy. Higher education teaching is in effect taken out of the domain of public policy and becomes an entirely private matter between individuals and institutions, with the market playing a much greater role than at present....
"Although funding is withdrawn from all subjects, the fact that funding is withdrawn in totality from arts, humanities, social sciences and other classroom based subjects gives the impression that these areas which are so vital to the well being of society are not valued by Government, and it is essential that the Government makes a clear statement that this is not the case."
Oh and for Razorlight fans, they played a gig at the occupation last night.

11.44am: The Sky News helicopter is already hovering above the ULU building. Get ready for a number of hours of over-exciteable news coverage. Not here, hopefully – let me know what's happening in your part of the march and we'll try to keep some broader perspective.

11.50am: A few tweets that caught my attention:

Seriously; lots of police with riot helmets and first aid kits, too. Plenty of press; more than I have seen before at these demos. #demo2010

best placard so far today: 'does my society look big in this?' #demo2010

Group of protesters just had placards confiscated by police opposite king's college.. #demo2010 #dayx

12.01pm: This pic was just tweeted in by Adam Gabbatt. He says: "Hard hats distributed to protesters. Slogan on the front: 'tax the banks, not the students'"

12.18pm: Scotland Yard are once again, to use that well-known phrase, predicting a riot. These quotes are newly on PA from the force's Superintendent Julia Pendry:

Protesters will be allowed sight and sound of parliament. However, there is evidence to suggest a number of people will come to London intent on causing violence and disorder. They are jumping on the bandwagon of these demonstrations with no intention to protest or interest in student tuition fees. This is of concern to us.
Those who come to London for peaceful protest will be policed proportionately and appropriately. But those who are intent on committing crime will also be dealt with and they will suffer the consequences of their actions.

Npw Pendry is very experienced in this sort of thing, handling the policing at last year's Tamil protests in London. But if I didn't know better I'd say her words today sound like a coded warning: stay away or prepare to be kettled. Police expect 20,000 protesters, she added.

12.27pm: Vince Cable has begun speaking in parliament; the debate has started. Andrew Sparrow will be following that part of today's events live.

12.32pm: There is, without a doubt, a heavy police prescence. Several tweets are talking about "rolling kettles" in place, presumably to prevent marchers splitting off.
Our man on the spot, Adam Gabbatt, writes:

Protesters listening to speeches near Russell Square, marshalled by police. Numbers are swelling rapidly, predominantly university students but younger and older faces too. Many are wearing green hard hats which were being given out at the University of London Union, bearing the legend: "Tax the banks not the students." Lots of calls from speakers for police to avoid kettling, and anti-Liberal Democrat rhetoric. Just been hearing from a Camden School for Girls pupil, which was occupied for 24 hours until this morning. Large police presence here, although it's very peaceful so far. An elderly man is playing the violin next to me.

12.50pm: It's time for some atmosphere from the London march. Adam Gabbatt speaks to me from the start of the rally in Bloomsbury.
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12.53pm: There's also a march taking place in Newcastle, where one tweet says protesters have been kettled while trying to cross the Tyne Bridge. Updates available on the university occupation Twitter feed, who also re-tweeted this picture.

1.02pm: The snugly-dressed (see 11.08am) Esther Addley is near parliament, and tweeting away:

Queues of police collecting lattes at caffe nero, parliament sq #demo2010

Plenty of police at portcullis house, v few protesters so far #demo2010 http://twitpic.com/3ebt0j

1.10pm: We have the first skirmishes between marchers and police, minor stuff so far. TV footage shows shoving matches between protesters – who are seemingly trying to break away from the main route and escape possible kettling – and yellow-vested officers. In another context it would be known, I believe, as "handbags".

1.13pm: The technologically-savvy UCL occupation group have put together a Google map showing the progress of the London protests. Limited information so far, but I like the little green mounted police graphic.

1.25pm: Another nice pic from Adam, who tweets it with the caption, "We've had the youngest protester, is this the oldest?"

1.34pm: Some more audio from the march – Tanya, a student from London, talks about the mood of the protest and why she's there.
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1.46pm: 1.39pm: Esther Addley is biding her time by parliament, and sends in a photo of lots of police doing the same:

It is oddly quiet at Parliament Square, since most of the surrounding roads, including Whitehall, Millbank, Westminster Bridge and part of Embankment are closed to traffic. The main march from ULU is not expected here for another 30 mins or so.
But an enormous number of police – there must be several hundred at least – are already lined up across the bottom of Whitehall, on both sides of the road outside parliament and beyond, in a long line of fluorescent yellow.
Some are wearing blue Metropolitan Police caps rather than the more familiar black police hat, but most have a helmet dangling from their waists.
It's pretty good-natured at the moment, police officers joking with tourists and lining up for coffee in Cafe Nero. I haven't noticed any problems with people taking photos.
At present, though, there are still very few protesters here.

2.08pm: There's a bit of pushing and shoving at Parliament Square, from where I spoke to Esther Addley. She says things remain, for the most part, good-natured if slightly chaotic.
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2.15pm: An email from one marcher, Simon:

Protesters broke down the barrier into the green of Parliament Square. There are now literally hundreds of police approaching. At the back we are not quite sure where to go.

2.31pm: A lovely Guardian video: Birmingham University student unfurl their anti-cuts banner on Westminister Bridge.
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2.32pm: A slightly alarming tweet from the Guardian's Polly Curtis:

View from Commons: the entire police line has just switched to riot gear

2.33pm: There's lots of shoving against the barriers on Parliament Square, with a few placards being thrown, TV pics show. The pic here was tweeted.

2.37pm: Polly Curtis, watching from the Commons, says she saw the centre of Parliament Square taken over in a matter of moments. She's tweeted one photo of a near-empty square, and another taken just three minutes later.

2.43pm: Lest we – as ever her at the Guardian – get too obsessed with London, here's a gallery of photos from today's protest in Newcastle.

2.52pm: A missive from the Guardian's Jonathan Haynes, who's currently getting to know his fellow marchers much better inside Parliament Square:

Hello - trapped in crush where police hold protest back outside parliament – sure you have better view on TV. Crowd have homemade shields. One young protester picked up brick – immediately told by all around to put it down. Things have been thrown at police though – crowd increasing frustrated at having nowhere to go. Current discussion is whether protest in now kettled, no on seems to know.

2.58pm: It seems there is at least one idiot on the march. Adam Gabbatt tweets to say:

This was just thrown into the crowd beside me. Thankfully didn't hit anyone. It's heavy

In case you can't see the small crop of the photo very well, it's some sort of large industrial battery.

3.10pm: With the London protest now apparently in some sort of limbo near parliament, let's catch up with a few tweets, from Guardian staffers and others:

@estheraddley

Students huddling around bonfires made from burning placards in parl sq in to keep warm

Cheers as protester climbs up lamppost, waves, slides down lamppost.

@adambaggatt

Hundreds in Parliament Square. Police had said protesters wouldn't be allowed here

@shanecarmichael
John Redwood rushing down Whitehall in a nifty puffer jacket. He wasn't carrying a placard sadly

@jamiewelham
Police tell protesters "this is not a containment. You are free to leave"

3.20pm: I've just had a very noisy chat with Adam Gabbatt from Parliament Square where – brave lad – he was just a few metres from the police lines as some marchers threw placards and missles and tried to break through. For a brief moment the foot police parted to reveal mounted officers behind. Luckily for Adam they didn't charge. Professional that he is, Adam didn't drop his phone and run but kept talking.

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3.29pm: It's probably high time we had a recap:
As MPs debate higher tuition fees in the Commons tens of thousands of students and others have marched through central London towards Parliament Square.
The vast bulk of the protest has been peaceful and good-natured, those on the ground say.
However, there have been some isolated skirmishes, mainly protesters using barriers to try and force back police lines. Some placards and flares have been thrown.
Scotland Yard says that so far there has been just one arrest (for drunk and disorderly) and no reported injuries, though both could change.
Police have seemingly not been able to contain marchers as they had hoped. A large nunber have spilled onto the green of Parliament Square, painting a giant "No" in red paint.
Some officers have donned riot gear and police horses are in place.
There has been a smaller march in Newcastle and later today students in Edinburgh will hold a rally at the Scottish parliament.

3.41pm: They're a media-savvy lot these students. Mindful of the news helicopters circling above Parliament Square they've painted a vast message on the grass in the centre.

3.45pm: Ladies and gentlemen, we have our kettle. Esther Addley has telephoned in to say police in Parliament Square confirmed to her that a "containment" (their term) is in place. They add: "This is due to the level of violence that our officers are facing." They won't say how long it might be in place.

More generally, Esther adds, while there are some skirmishes in one corner of the square the bulk of the protest remains peaceful. There is now a bonfire, using some benches from the square, she says.

3.51pm: A policeman has been injured, TV pictures seem to show. The man is being taken away on a stretcher. Meanwhile police horses have charged the crowd once and appear to be about to do so again.
PA are reporting that one policeman – I'm not sure if this is the same officer – was hurt after being knocked off his horse.
Scotland Yard say they have no more information about the injured officer beyond what they, too, are seeing on TV.

3.56pm: Things are getting quite ugly in some places. Here's the Scotland Yard statement on their kettle:

It has been necessary to put in a containment in Parliament Square due to the level of violence officers are faced with.
Missiles including flares, sticks, snooker balls and paint balls have been aimed at police.
Officers will use tannoys to talk to those within the containment to explain what is happening. Those who are clearly not involved in any violence and want to join the agreed rally point at Victoria Embankment will be allowed to do so.
Officers will also pay special attention to anyone within the containment who is young or vulnerable.

4.02pm: Twitter is going a bit made right now over a Tweet saying a protester in a wheelchair was dragged away by police. Anyone know any more? There's also reports of several protesters being injured, one knocked unconscious.

4.08pm: Here's an instant answer from the Guardian's Jonathan Haynes:

@peterwalker99 seeing injured protesters here - inc one looking unconcious being treated by police medics

4.12pm: Re my 4.02pm update – all that seems to be around are two Twitpics, one of the man seemingly being pulled from the wheelchair and the other of the wheelchair now apparently empty.

4.15pm: An email from a concerned parent about Scotland Yard's offer to let the young or vulnerable out of the kettle (see 3.56pm):

My daughter is kettled. I sent her info that police are allowing nonviolent protesters to leave. She says 'easier said than done'.

4.18pm: BBC News showing slightly ominous footage of police horses lining up in the dusk. More charges coming, I expect.

4.24pm: It's very hard to get a full picture of injuries. The London Ambulance Service tells me only that they have treated six people – they can't say whether these were marchers or police, or whether any injuries were serious.

A student medical steward – he's a trained St John's Ambulance member – has phoned in to say he's treated at least 10 head injuries from marchers being hit with police batons, around two thirds of which were serious enough to need hospital treatment.

Finally, Scotland Yard say two officers have been injured, one knocked unconscious who's suffered head injuries, and one with leg injuries after being knocked from his horse.

4.31pm: Our very own Caroline Davies emails me with this:

Shiv Malik, 29, a journalist, gave the Guardian this account from a cab on his way to University College Hospital for treatment to a head wound caused by a police baton. He was in Parliament Square at the junction with Victoria Street caught between the police line and the students, who were moving the fence up in an attempt to break through.

"The crowd surged in an attempt to break through the police line, and I was caught on the same side as the police but facing towards them with the fence behind me. The fence came right up to the police line. The police started to push back then they started using their batons on protesters. I was caught then and pushed up towards the front. I ducked, my glasses were knocked off my face so I was trying to hold them. Then, basically, a baton strike came to the side of my face and then onto the top of my head. Directly onto the crown of my head. I felt a big whacking thud and I heard it reverberating inside my head.
"I wasn't sure whether I was bleeding or not. I moved off to the side and asked a police officer if I was bleeding. But he just said 'Keep moving, keep moving". Then I put my hand to the top of my head and looked at my palm and I could see there was blood everywhere. I then asked another police officer, who was wearing a police medic badge, if he could help me. And he told me to move away as well and told me to go to another exit. By this point blood was streaming down the back of my head and back of my neck and matting my hair. I was wearing a roll neck jumper and it was seeping into the back of my jumper. I managed to come off to one side and make my way out where two protesting student helped me. They were cleaning the top of my head with water and some tissues. Someone in the crowd gave me a whole pack of Kleenex. Then two female protestors escorted me out. I had to walk all the way up to Leicester Square where I managed to catch a cab.
I don't know the extent of my injury. I've been told it's about an inch long gash right at the top of my crown. It stopped bleeding now, but it was bleeding badly for about ten minutes."

4.36pm: Things seem to be calming down. Most protesters are sitting around bonfires and, one person emails to say, even the kettle might be easing. Jakob writes:

We are being allowed to leave into St James park. Just been out and in.

4.42pm: We have an answer for the question posed at 4.02pm. The man pictured being pulled from his wheelchair is Jody McIntyre who, coincidentally, was interviewed in the Observer last month.

I spoke to his brother, Finlay, who says Jody was actually pulled from the chair twice. The first time was near Parliament Square when police insisted he move from close to the front of their lines. Three officers, he said, picked Jody up and dragged him away.
The second was nearer the river, when officers insisted he and Finlay were in danger near police horses. This time, Finlays says, his brother was pulled bodily on the ground across the street.

5.00pm: Esther Addley reports from Parliament Square. Her main message is that whatever the dramatic TV pictures – bonfires burning just outside parliament – things are now really not that dramatic. One point she adds: while the police kettle is now supposedly open she thinks most marchers don't currently reaise this.

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5.06pm: The Guardian's Jonathan Haynes calls me from Whitehall. He says that while the "kettle" on Parliament Square is being officers where he is – just near the Cenotaph – won't let anyone out, even the media. He's shown his press card to two police but remains penned in. There are riot police and mounted officers and they are, he says, using "very heavy handed" tactics – striding into a passive crowd to shove people backwards.

5.14pm: 5.10pm: Now here's Scotland Yard's view. Superintendent Julia Pendry gave this statement to reporters outside New Scotland Yard a bit ago. It's quite bullish:

The Met is extremely disappointed with the behaviour of protesters. It is absolutely obvious that people have come to London with the intention of committing violent disorder, not coming for peaceful protest.
That can be proved by the fact they have deviated from the agreed route. There have been seven arrests and three officers injured and they are in hospital. Obviously there has been a continued unprovoked attack by protesters....
(The injured police) came to work this morning to facilitate peaceful protest and end up being attacked by missiles, flares and other objects.

5.15pm: Pretty soon the focus will be back in the Commons, where MPs are about to vote on the tuition fees bill. Follow all the action on Andrew Sprrow's blog, though I will of course keep this blog going for a while.

So where are we now?
There has been sporadic violence during a major march in London, mainly around Parliament Square. Police say three officers have been injured, marchers report an uknown number of people hurt by police batons. The ambulance service says 19 people have been treated, with six taken to hospital.
The bulk of the protest has been good-natured, if occasionally chaotic, with only a small number of people throwing placards or flares.
Scotland Yard "kettled" marchers near parliament, though they say this has now been lifted.
Police have said they are "extremely disappointed", alleging that some marchers came to London with the express intention of being violent.

5.25pm: A very belated hat tip to the live blog of today's protest being run by the EastLondonLines website, run by Goldsmith journalism students. It's not only very good but it seems they were first with the pic of Jody McIntyre (see 4.42pm).

PS to EastLondonLines: Fantastically SEO-friendly URL on the blog.

5.36pm: Things are still quite tense in Whitehall, with a standoff between protesters and police; lots of tweets coming in complaining of excessively robust policing. The question is: what happens when the vote result comes in? Will there be anger when – presumably – the measure is passed?

5.39pm: It's a confusing picture. Jenny emails me:

The BBC news say that the police are letting peaceful protestors leave Parliament Square. There was talk that people could leave if they went via Whitehall. My partner followed this instruction but is now being pushed back by police horses. Despite you reporting that Scotland Yard say they have lifted the containment, as yet there is no evidence of this.

5.41pm: The vote is in – a government majority of 21. There were 323 votes in favour of higher tuition fees, 302 against. Let's wait for the reaction.

5.48pm: Another chat with Adam Gabbatt, who's now in Whitehall were police have begun a new kettle. It seems that while people are being allowed out of Parliament Square it is only into Whitehall, where they will have to remain. Interestingly, Adam says he reckons lots of people don't yet realise they might be stuck for a while.

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5.52pm: There's plenty of complaints coming in about the kettling. Bob Banks emails me:

My 16-year daughter phoned a few minutes ago - she is kettled (aka detained) in Parliament Square, with a big group of school students from King Edwards school in Sheffield,
amongst many others. They're in good spirits but say the police are being very aggressive. I feel it's outrageous that peaceable school-kids legitimately protesting are being
detained in this way.

5.53pm: And predictably enough, scuffles have broken out in the kettle. Some marcher tried to break out using barriers, TV footage show. Riot police responded with a charge.

5.58pm: Another email questioning police tactics, from Karis Upton. She says her partner, Ben Walker, a postgraduate student, was knocked unconscious but police still refused to allow him out of the kettle:

I've just recieved a phonecall from my partner who has been badly injured at the protest. Apparently police contained a group of passive protesters who, when asked if they could get out, were set towards another blockade.
My partner was pushed forward and was knocked unconscious by a police officer. Bleeding and injured he asked if he could get medical attention to his head wound but was paid no attention to.
Thanks to two members of the public he was carried out towards medical assistance, still within the containment, to get his head bandaged. When he called me he was still being contained even though he was making it aware to police surrounding that he was experiencing headaches and had clearly been hurt.

6.15pm: Another very dramatic – and hopefullly audible above the shouting – chat with Adam Gabbatt. He reports chaotic scenes on Whitehall – protesters using fencing to push at police, who in turn are trying to force people back towards Parliament Square. Worryingly, he says it is getting very crushed as a separate group of police try to shove the crowd in the opposite direction.

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6.24pm: A Guardian video of some of the scuffles earlier, including injuries and a riderless police horse.

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6.28pm: Stephen Ashmead, a masters student at SOAS, emails with a fascinating summary of how he saw today's events:

Chaos was the order of the day. The march itself was incredibly peaceful and good-humoured. The SOAS Salsa Band kept us all marching along to a latin beat. But in Parliament Square things got confusing. The BBC says we forced our way into Parliament Square, but this isn't true. We'd even turned around to walk the opposite way but then the police let us through. I didn't really see any of the earlier violence which was probably sporadic at best. In fact, rthe crowd mainly seemed good humoured. Yes, lots of fires were lit, but they were mainly to keep people warm.
The closed off area was originally quite large, being all of Parliament Square and most of Whitehall. But then the police put in two extra lines of police, cutting off the students at Parliament Square from the ones towards the Cenotaph. We were told by police that we could get out via Parliament Street in small groups, so a huge crowd gathered here. By the time I'd got to the front, the large crowd had grown restless and started surging forward. Many others around me and others shouted 'stop pushing' as it was beginning to feel like a crush but I was eventually pushed through the police line by the protesters behind me. I then walked up Whitehall only to meet the other kettled group. At that point, the police were actually feeding students into the kettle, through a small opening in the corner. But suddenly, the students in the kettle began to surge back towards Parliament Square and broke the police line. A policeman to my left shouted, 'Batons out!' incredibly loudly and began to move towards the few confused students in between the two kettles. After that police line was broken, there were a few angry students pushing at the other police lines, but it was mainly students just wondering round aimlessly not knowing what was going on. Luckily for me, I managed to be in the right place at the right time, because the police started letting people out from a narrow side street towards the Thames, and, with crowds of other people, I got out. The walk to Charing Cross station was a surreal one, with the chaotic protest behind you, and the real world in front of you, which seemed completely oblivious to what was going on behind the police lines. I'm glad to say I'm now home and enjoying a cup of tea.

6.34pm: The kettle is going on, but this live blog has to draw to a close. Here's a final summary of what we know so far:
There have been some chaotic if only occasionlly violent scenes in central London as marchers protested around Parliament Square and Whitehall.
Police have condemned what they saw was deliberate violence by some protesters; some marchers have responded with claims of heavy-handed policing.
A group of marchers remain "kettled" on Whitehall, where police are seemingly trying to push them towards Parliament Square. There is no telling when they might be let out.
There have been seven arrests so far. The police report six injured officers and 13 injured protesters.
Oh yes - the tution fees bill passed the Commons with a majority of 21.

My colleague Andrew Sparrow is made of sterner stuff and is still live blogging on the political side.

As with all these protests the full picture will only emerge later, so feel free to email or tweet with your stories. Thanks for all the invaluable input today; apologies if I didn't use your contribution.

8.30pm: This is Jonathan Paige taking over the live blog for the night.

There have been some more developments. Firstly, police are attempting to clear Parliament square by reopening Westminster Bridge to the South Bank. They had apparently been letting protesters out one by one but felt the area was (perhaps unsurprisingly) not clearing quickly enough. There is a line of police now slowly pushing forward to clear the area.

Are you there? Contact me @johnnypaige on twitter, via email at johnny.paige.casual@guardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3581

8.40pm Reports are coming in that at about 7.30pm Prince Charles's car, which was driving along Regent Street, was attacked by a crowd of protesters. The prince was in the car, as was Camilla.

Eyewitnesses said the car was well lit up, so it was easy to see who was inside. The car was surrounded by protesters, who broke a window and splashed the car with paint. Shortly afterwards, the police arrived, in a scene described as "complete chaos".

Again, were you there? Let us know.

9pm Some further updates on the Prince Charles car incident. Abdul has emailed to say he was at Regent Street when the prince's car was surrounded:

Pathetic security of six police bikes for the prince. No one realised who it was, evidenced by the crowd screaming "Tory scum" ... About 80 people then rushed up about 50m and made a roadblock out of roadworking blocks and metal gates, forcing the motorcade to swerve and turn away.

He adds that the protest there seems to be ebbing away now.

10.25pm: Some protesters have reportedly been kettled on Westminster Bridge, between lines of police four rows deep. The officers swept Parliament Square, forcing hundreds on to the bridge.

10.50pm Apologies for the lack of updates. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say we've been a little swept off our feet here tonight. I'm going through your emails and tweets now.

11.30pm Final update …
There have been a number of calls and emails over the last two hours or so telling me about the reported kettling at Westminster bridge. According to reports, several hundred protesters are still being held there.

It's not clear how many people have been injured during the protests today. One person has emailed in a report of the kettling earlier on today:

We were forced back all the way back up to the corner of Whitehall and Parliament Square where the police were flanking us on all sides and at one side it was kicking off. They then proceeded to push us all together forcing us 'back' 'back' back' – until we had nowhere to go. I saw people being directly punched in the head by police and hit using the edge of riot shields. We were squeezed tightly together, funnelled into a gap between police vans and a wall. The police didn't seem to know where they were pushing us. People were getting crushed against walls and having to scramble over them and climb up onto ledges of the surrounding buildings to escape the surges of the crowd.

They held us there for another hour, while the crowd just got more tightly packed and panicked. The atmosphere got pretty ugly and desperate at that point. People were crying and really getting hurt. It felt like if something, like the meshed netting over a basement drop I was forced to climb up on, caved in, a very serious situation indeed could easily have been created, initiated by the police behaviour.

Finally, after hours of containment they released the kettle and at about 6.30pm allowed people to leave in small groups.

Patrick Matthews called in to say that his nephew, a 20-year-old student at Middlesex University, is unconscious at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital after the protests. He thinks he may have been hit on the head.

Meanwhile, Charles and Camilla are safe and well after their experience at the hands of the crowd of protesters earlier. Ben Kelsey has emailed in to remind the royal couple that "at least they didn't end up on the tumbriles [look it up]," although judging by the video I've just seen on the news, they weren't too far off.

I'm going to sign off now. There'll be more updates in the main news stories throughout the night. It's been a pleasure.