UK: Several arrested as clashes erupt during student protest in London

Several protesters were arrested after clashes broke out between police and students at a rally in London, Wednesday. The students were protesting against further hikes in tuition fees and cuts to maintenance grants that the ruling Conservative Party is set to push through. Clashes broke out outside the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills building. Protesters threw smoke bombs, eggs and paint at police who were protecting the building. The government's decision to axe maintenance grants and replace them with loans has been widely condemned by students. The cuts, which come into effect from September 2016, will burden students with thousands of pounds of extra debt. Earlier in the day Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer John McDonnell told students that "your generation has been betrayed by this government."