A huge, peaceful demonstrations by labor unions against some modest budget cuts to be made by the government was hijacked last night as several hundred anarchists broke from the main demonstration to wreak havoc in central London.

The Daily Mail:

A placard demanding 'hands off Libya' was placed high on the statue of King Charles I.

John Williamson, 60, a tourist from Whitehaven, Cumbria, said: 'I think it's embarrassing for the country. There's so many tourists here. What are they going to think?'

Splinter groups broke off from the main body of more than 250,000 demonstrators marching from Victoria Embankment to Hyde Park to launch an assault on the capital's main shopping district.

Some were hellbent on storming - or destroying - any London landmarks synonymous with luxury or money. Others targeted companies associated with tax avoidance.

Hundreds laid siege to The Ritz hotel, attacking it with paint and smokebombs. A Porsche showroom was also smashed up and upmarket department store Fortnum & Mason was occupied by about 1,000 activists.

Some are equating the labor union march with the rampage of the anarchists. To be sure, some of the reds in labor have many of the same goals as the anarchists. And there is little doubt that some unionists joined the anarchists in their vandalism and destruction of property.

But as a whole, it would be unfair to tag the labor march - nearly half a million strong - with the violence. They are not stupid. The whole point of the march was to rally popular support for rescinding the cuts. You don't do that by attacking British landmarks like the Ritz or Fortnum and Mason. Only mindless barbarians like the anarchists would carry out such attacks.