Demonstrators swarm central London to protest spending cuts

Scattered violence broke out Saturday as tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through central London to protest proposed austerity measures and public sector spending cuts.
Police arrested 13 people for criminal damage and public order offenses after several businesses were vandalized, police said.
Four police officers were hurt during the protests, with one being treated in the hospital, they added.
The Trades Union Congress, which organized the demonstration, said nearly half a million people were taking part, far exceeding their original estimate of 100,000 participants. London's Metropolitan Police would not give an estimate of the number of participants.
"Banker's greed or people's needs -- Cut bonuses not benefits" read one placard at the protest. "Strike together to bring down the government" read another.
The march was largely peaceful apart from isolated skirmishes between protesters and police, who said light bulbs filled with ammonia were thrown at officers after they intervened to stop paint and bottles being thrown at store windows on Oxford Street.
A clothing store and branches of the HSBC and Santander banks were damaged and trash cans were overturned. Protesters then made their way to Piccadilly Circus and the nearby Ritz Hotel, where they swarmed the famous entrance arcade.
Protesters smashed a nearby Starbucks Coffee window and spray painted anarchy symbols on the front. Police in fluorescent yellow jackets lined up at the sandwich shop next door to stop further damage.
The Trades Union Congress calls Saturday's event a "March for the Alternative" and says cuts to public sector spending are not the way to address the government deficit.