broke free of the police kettle, running throughout central London while pursued by police; The Guardian'''s Paul Lewis stated that "police were caught in a game of cat and mouse, along Charing Cross, Covent Garden and Piccadilly Circus." Some of these protesters committed acts of vandalism along the side streets, including knocking over rubbish bins and throwing traffic cones into the road. Various bus shelters and ticket machines in the area were vandalised, with Transport for London diverting buses away from the unrest. Approximately 200 protesters were unable to escape and remained kettled in Whitehall. Police falsely informed press that the crowd were provided with toilet facilities and water; protesters disputed these claims on social media, with ULU President Clare Solomon commenting on Facebook: "we're still illegally kettled in the freezing cold on Whitehall. No food, water or toilets despite what the police are telling the media. Thousands of young people needing to go home." To keep warm, protesters set fire to a ticket machine within the Square, prompting riot police to secure the machine and put out the flames. From 9 to 10 pm, police permitted the rest of the Whitehall protesters to leave, approximately nine to ten hours after they had first been contained, some being searched as they left. During the clashes, police arrested 41 protesters. Occupations and local protests Across the UK, protesters occupied university buildings in at least 12 universities. On 23 November, protesters occupied the picture gallery corridor of Royal Holloway, University of London. They were later joined by supportive members of university staff who took part in what was labelled a "teach-in". On 24 November, the Language Centre at London South Bank University was occupied for 51 hours by over 100 students as part of the "Defend LSBU! Defend Our Education!" campaign. That same day, students occupied the Jeremy Bentham Room in University College London, stating that they were protesting against "savage cuts to higher education and government attempts to force society to pay for a crisis it didn't cause." A BBC reporter visited the occupation, remarking that the protesters "seem as distant from the old left as they do from the new right" and that "you get a reminder that these are students born in the 1990s. They're quoting Harry Potter rather than Che Guevara." Protesters also occupied the University of East London, demanding that university managers "put pressure on the government