THE mayhem at Conservative Central Office in London reminds us all that the police are always the meat in the sandwich and can never do right for doing wrong.

Commissioner Paul Stephenson is in the spotlight for not having the wisdom of Solomon to prevent violence without stopping lawful protest.

A few short months ago police in the capital were criticised for their “strong-arm” tactics to control violence at a London demonstration about the bankers; this week they were pilloried for taking a “low key” approach when student protests over the increase in tuition fees turned ugly.

The similarity? In both instances unpopular decisions of politicians were at the heart of protests by groups opposed to their policies and police had to intervene to maintain law and order.

The difference? Student militancy was under-estimated, police were lulled into a false sense of security and so it was easy for a hard core of anarchists intent upon destroying the Government coalition to infiltrate a peaceful protest and manipulate events.

The winners? The TV media people who portray us as an unhappy nation.

The result? Students are the losers; any legitimate grievance has been undermined. The public will not stand for being bullied.

Allan Charlesworth, Old Earswick. • SURPRISE, surprise – at the students’ protest rally in London, there was violence, attacks on the police and property and trespass into BBC buildings; although many students protested peacefully, the event was hijacked by a rent-a-mob faction. The students oppose higher tuition fees, but offer no credible viable alternative to the Conservative Party policies.

The students are mostly angry with the Liberal Democrats, but they attacked Tory HQ rather than the Lib-Dem HQ, which is near to where many of them used violence.

Students through the ages have always opposed Conservative governments because most students are left-wing by creed, socialists, Trotskyist, often Communist and liberal in many ways.

During the past 13 years of the Labour government, the student movement was relatively quiet and inactive, in spite of the fact that Labour politicians were denying many civil liberties and trying to introduce a very authoritarian regime. The Coalition Government ideas on university tuition fees are sound, fair and sensible, given the financial state of this country.

David Quarrie, Lynden Way, Acomb, York.

• I WAS sickened and saddened by the rogue element of the student protesters over tuition fees who acted in a criminal way and caused damage and destruction to Conservative Party headquarters.

Students have a democratic right to express their views and opinions on student tuition fees, but I utterly condemn the criminal actions of the minority of rogue protesters causing criminal damage and destruction to the Conservative Party HQ in London.

Terry Smith, Fourth Avenue, York.

• THE public outcry of the Government raising fees for students has never raised the question of how many students could reduce their outlay of university education by attending their local one.

This obviously could not be done by all, but many degree courses are replicated. Over the years in this country, it has been traditional that students go away from home to study.

Accommodation both on campus and renting off campus is enormously expensive and by living at home money would be saved.

I have travelled the world and found in many countries this is how, where possible, students attend the local university.

If this culture was adopted here with fewer students needing accommodation, universities could then be encouraged to build more rooms on campus thus preventing large neighbourhoods near the campus becoming, in many case, run down ghettos for students – much to the distress of local residents.

JM Johnson, Station Road, Poppleton, York.

• REGARDING the student protest outside Tory HQ, if everyone thinks that was bad, just wait until later this winter when VAT etc cuts in.

Remember the Thatcher years; you know, the one who encouraged everyone to be greedy and look after themselves; buy council houses and not build any more to replace them; sell everything off that’s British; and that old Tory trait of getting the working class to go against each other, just as this lot are doing.

All Cameron’s vigour is against benefit cheats; why not concentrate on tax dodgers, the rich who keep their cash elsewhere and amounts to 14 times more than benefit cheats?

No doubt when these protests begin they will infiltrate police etc, to be a protester to make it look worse as Thatcher did at Wapping when printers and miners rallied, (I was there, I know first hand).

I’m afraid Dave is just Thatcher in trousers. All working class people who got conned and voted Tory should hang their heads in shame.

PS: Where’s Dave’s bike got to?

Peter Black, Langley House, York.

• PHIL WOOLAS has been found guilty of lying in his election material. I hope we can expect any Liberal Democrat MP who votes for the increased student fees (having promised not to) will be similarly charged.

Misleading the voter is, or should be, one of the worst crimes in a democracy.

Clive Tiney, Towthorpe Road, Haxby, York.