Tens of thousands of students and school pupils walked out of class, marched, and occupied buildings around the country in the second day of mass action within a fortnight to protest at education cuts and higher tuition fees. 
 
 Amid more than a dozen protests, estimated by some to involve up to 130,000 students, there were isolated incidents of violence and skirmishes with police, mostly in central London. 
 
 The police tactic of penning students into a so-called kettle near Parliament Square for several hours caused anger, but appeared to contain the disorder. 
 
 One exception came as night fell, when police mounted on horses charged at about 1,000 students gathered near Trafalgar Square. The protesters ran through the area, with officers following. Students then hurled chairs and traffic cones into the road as bemused tourists looked on. At least two bus windows were smashed and shops were also attacked. 
 
 The coalition government condemned the protests, saying they were being hijacked by extremist groups. The education secretary, Michael Gove, gave a notably combative response, urging the media not to give the violent minority "the oxygen of publicity", a resonant phrase associated closely with Margaret Thatcher's efforts in the 1980s to deny the IRA television coverage. 
 
 Gove said the government would not waver, adding: "I respond to arguments, I do not respond to violence." 
 
 In contrast, Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, whose pre-election pledge to oppose increased tuition fees has made him the focus of student anger, spoke of his "massive regret" in having to rescind the promise. 
 
 "I regret of course that I can't keep the promise that I made because – just as in life – sometimes you are not fully in control of all the things you need to deliver those pledges," he told one of several angry callers to BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show. "Of course I massively regret finding myself in this situation." 
 
 But he said that the fact the Liberal Democrats had been forced into a coalition, and that the country's finances were worse than they had anticipated, meant they had to accept "compromise". 
 
 Asked about his reaction to footage, earlier in the week, of students hanging him in effigy, Clegg said: "I'm developing a thick skin." 
 
 In a further sign of the developing pressure on the government's cuts programme, Len McCluskey, the new leader of Unite, Britain's biggest trade union, put himself and his union at the forefront of "an alliance of resistance". In an interview in the Guardian, McCluskey says: "There is an anger building up the likes of which we have not seen in our country since the poll tax." 
 
 The biggest single protest was in London, where about 5,000 people – many of them noticeably younger than those who took part in the previous mass protest on 10 November – spent hours kettled" in Whitehall as officers sought to prevent a repeat of the chaotic scenes when protesters burst through police lines to storm the Conservative party headquarters. Thousands more marched elsewhere around the country while others staged sit-ins at university buildings. 
 
 About 3,000 higher education students and school pupils gathered to protest in central Manchester, where there were four arrests, and a similar number gathered in Liverpool. A crowd of around 2,000 people protested in Sheffield, with about 1,000 doing so in Leeds and 3,000 in Brighton. There were scuffles in Cambridge as crowds attempted to storm the university's Senate House. 
 
 A total of 17 people were treated for injuries in London. Of them, 13 needed hospital treatment, including two police officers, one with a broken arm. Police said 32 people had been arrested. One 19-year-old art student was pictured trying to stop masked marchers attacking the van. "We're going to be portrayed badly in the media," she shouted at them. "We're just wrecking a police van." 
 
 After being forced to apologise for the mayhem two weeks ago when fewer than 250 police were unable to marshal a crowd of more than 50,000, Scotland Yard sent almost four times as many officers onto the streets and quickly penned marchers into a section of streets. Late last night some parents arrived at the police cordon pleading for their children to be released. The worst violence erupted after 6pm as officers let the marchers leave. ||||| Thousands of British students protested Wednesday against government plans to triple university tuition fees, and there were sporadic scuffles with police, two weeks after a similar demonstration sparked a small riot. 
 
 Students protest against the British government's plan to increase student tuition fees in Trafalgar Square London, Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010. The London landmark 'Big Ben' can be seen in the background/... (Associated Press) 
 
 Student protesters target a police van during a demonstration against an increase in university tuition fees, in Westminster, central London= Wednesday Nov. 24, 2010. Several thousand British students... (Associated Press) 
 
 A protester smashes the windscreen of a stranded police vehicle, as thousands of students protest against a rise in university tuition fees in Whitehall, London, Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010. Several thousand... (Associated Press) 
 
 Student protesters target a police van during a demonstration against an increase in university tuition fees, in Westminster, central London= Wednesday Nov. 24, 2010. Several thousand British students... (Associated Press) 
 
 Mounted police officers stand guard outside the Houses of Parliament as thousands of student protest against tuition fees at Whitehall in London, Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010. Thousands of British students... (Associated Press) 
 
 Protesters break down a construction barrier as thousands of students protest against tuition fees at Whitehall in London, Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010. Several thousand British students protested Wednesday... (Associated Press) 
 
 Protesters clash with police officers as thousands of student protest against tuition fees at Whitehall in London, Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010. Several thousand students protested against government plans... (Associated Press) 
 
 A protester displays her message as thousands of student protest against tuition fees at Whitehall in London, Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010. Thousands of British students protested Wednesday against government... (Associated Press) 
 
 Student protesters target a police van during a demonstration against an increase in university tuition fees, in Westminster, central London= Wednesday Nov. 24, 2010. Several thousand British students... (Associated Press) 
 
 Switzerland's Roger Federer plays a return to Britain's Andy Murray, unseen, during a round robin single tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena in London, Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Sang... (Associated Press) 
 
 British police officers prepare to barricade off the Liberal Democrats Party headquarter in central London in readiness for a student protest against raised tuition fees, taking place later in the day,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Spain's Rafael Nadal poses with his 2010 World Tour No. 1 trophy after presented to him during the ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena in London, Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Sang Tan) (Associated Press) 
 
 College and university students across the country held marches and sit-ins to oppose the decision to increase university fees to 9,000 pounds ($14,000) a year, a key plank in the government's deficit-cutting austerity measures. 
 
 In central London, the university students and younger pupils in school uniforms marched from Trafalgar Square toward the Houses of Parliament, chanting "no ifs, no buts, no education cuts." 
 
 The Metropolitan Police said two officers were injured in London, including one with a broken arm. Twenty-nine protesters were arrested for charges including violent disorder and criminal damage. 
 
 Some attacked a parked police van, smashing the windows and scrawling graffiti. Others destroyed phone boxes and set fire to a ticket machine at a bus stop. 
 
 "Education is not a rich kid's game," said Tash Holway, 19, a student. "If this keep up, the entire industry will change. It won't be about talent, but only about who can pay." 
 
 Lines of police guarded the headquarters near Parliament of junior government partner, the Liberal Democrats. The Lib Dems have drawn particular anger because the party campaigned on a promise to abolish tuition fees, then abandoned it once in power. 
 
 The party leader, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, said Wednesday "I massively regret finding myself in (the) situation" of not being able to keep this promise. 
 
 Asked how he felt about seeing students burn him in effigy, Clegg told BBC radio: "I'm developing a thick skin." 
 
 There was a heavy police presence, with hundreds of uniformed officers on duty. Students complained about confrontational tactics. 
 
 "At first the march was peaceful and then the police were called in and started kettling people and not letting anyone out," said Mara Payne, 25, of south London. 
 
 Kaya Wiley, 17, said government is breaking its promises. 
 
 "They're wasting our money and we're not going to get anywhere," she said. "I don't want work at (supermarket) Tesco. I want to be able to go to university. I don't think the violence is effective and I'm afraid the government might just brush it off." 
 
 There were demonstrations several thousand strong in university towns and cities across the country, including Bristol, Liverpool, Sheffield and Leeds. 
 
 In Cambridge, hundreds of students scaled the fence outside Senate House, the building used for graduation ceremonies, and marched into the grounds of the 700-year-old King's College shouting and waving placards. Two people were arrested for obstructing police. 
 
 An 18-year-old British student pleaded guilty Wednesday to throwing a fire extinguisher off the roof of the high-rise building during the protest in London two weeks ago. It narrowly missed police officers standing below. 
 
 Edward Woollard admitted one count of violent disorder. His lawyer said Woollard was "very sorry for his actions." 
 
 District Judge Nicholas Evans said Woollard would be sentenced later. He faces a maximum of five years in prison. 
 
 ___ 
 
 AP writer Jill Lawless contributed to this report.
– Tens of thousands of UK students again took to the streets of London to protest planned higher fees coupled with education cuts. It's the second mass demonstration in recent weeks. The only major violence was reported in Trafalgar Square, where a crowd smashed windows of shops, buses, and an unattended police van. At least 29 protesters were arrested, and two officers were injured, including one with a broken arm, reports AP. The education chief asked the UK media not to give protesters the "oxygen of publicity," which the Guardian notes echoed Margaret Thatcher's plea in the 1980s regarding coverage of the IRA. Said deputy prime minister Nick Clegg of how it feels to be burned in effigy: "I'm developing a thick skin."