"There were growing calls last night for the police to abandon the controversial use of "kettling" as student bodies announced a fresh day of national protests set for next week.

"Thousands of demonstrators, some of whom were as young as 12, were penned in for up to six hours in near-zero temperatures on Wednesday evening as the Metropolitan Police responded to protesters converging on Whitehall and pockets of violence broke out in places within the crowd.

"The calls for a further day of action next Tuesday, which could see more angry clashes in cities around the country, came as Britain's most senior police officer defended the use of kettling and called on the country's forces to prepare for "more disorder on our streets"."

Read on...