Police van ditched as officers feared for safety

The police van which became the focus of the mob in Whitehall was abandoned by officers when they feared for their safety.

Protesters surrounded the van as it followed one of the marches and the police officers inside felt "vulnerable". Senior officers then took the decision not to try to recover the vehicle for fear of sparking more violence.

A police source said: "We did not want to provoke a battle over an empty van."

The vehicle was attacked by vandals, despite the bravery of some teenage girls who formed a ring around it shouting at them to stop.

Conspiracy theories today suggested that the van had been left there deliberately. One student told The Times that he had heard that it had been left to provoke thuggery.

There were also rumours that it had hidden cameras which were filming the students stealing items including riot helmets, shields and protective vests.

The Met said the van had been following the crowd to determine which direction the protest was going. A spokesman said: "The damage to the van is regrettable but to prevent that happening would have involved deploying a large number of officers and the use of substantial force."

The teenagers who tried to protect the van told today how they remonstrated with protesters.

Year 11 pupil Rimba Temple-Smith, from Dunraven School, Streatham, formed a chain with friends Victoria Kuziora 16, and Samantha Hawkes, 15, as yobs smashed the windscreen with sticks and metal poles, before climbing on top.

Rimba, 16, said: "I was there with my friends telling people not to smash it. There was a few other people doing the same. It is about cuts, not violence. The people smashing the van are just thugs."