Students plan biggest protest yet on day MPs vote over fees

London students are planning their biggest mass demonstration yet in a last-ditch attempt to stop MPs tripling university tuition fees.

Trade unionists are expected to join tens of thousands of students on the streets next Thursday as the Commons votes on education funding.

Anger is growing after it emerged that students from England will be forced to pay more for university than those from the rest of the EU.

Undergraduates from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and elsewhere in Europe have their fees subsidised or waived at UK universities outside England.

But if the new £9,000-a-year fees are introduced, English students will be the only ones forced to pay in full wherever they study in Britain.

One protest organiser, James Meadway of London University's School of Oriental and African Studies, said: "This illustrates some of the policy's inconsistencies and may have some impact on the numbers marching on Thursday. This is a question of values as well as money. We don't want education to be a commodity."

Universities including SOAS, University College London and King's College are all being occupied by students, who have vowed to continue their protests despite being threatened with legal action.

UCL students were told to leave the building by 11am yesterday or face legal moves but refused to depart. SOAS bosses have already taken out a High Court injunction to evict protesters but those students too remain in the building.

One 30-year-old UCL post-graduate student, who did not want to be named, said: "We are still determined. Management were probably going to take legal action as it has been done at other universities. But we have lots of support from lecturers and have had members of staff in here."

UCL medical student Timesh Pillay, 21, said: "We have no plans to leave. We stand by our original demands."

A letter sent by the university yesterday said the occupation was "disrupting significantly the day-to-day operation of UCL", with a number of events being cancelled.

It went on: "Be clear that if you do not vacate the Jeremy Bentham room by 11am today your continued occupation of that room (or your occupation of any other part of UCL's campus to which you may re-locate after leaving the Jeremy Bentham room) will be without UCL's either express or implied authority or permission.

"As such, your occupation will be unlawful and UCL will be entitled to commence legal proceedings against you for an order requiring you to vacate any part of UCL's campus that you are then occupying and preventing you from undertaking any future occupation of UCL's campus or conducting any unlawful activities which disrupt the day-to-day operation of UCL."

On Tuesday students at UCL's Slade College of Fine Art near the Jeremy Bentham Room, began their own occupation to support the protest.