Responding to the Met Police’s statement on the potential use of ‘baton rounds’ (similar to rubber bullets) at this week’s student protests over tuition fees, Green Party Mayoral Candidate Jenny Jones said: "Any officer that shoots a student with a baton round will have to answer to the whole of London.
"How did we come to this? An unpopular government pushing ahead with policies that are all pain and no gain, relying on police armed with plastic bullets to deal with young people who complain about it all.
"The police should never be put in the position where they are seen as the last defence of an unpopular government. The police have a duty to facilitate peaceful demonstrations, which is why all this talk of baton rounds is very unhelpful as it will stop ordinary people from exercising their right to protest.
"The Mayor of London should be telling the Met police to calm things down, rather than talking tough and using tactics which escalate any tensions. We have seen how worried the Church became at being associated with any police action to clear the peaceful protesters away from St Pauls.
"The prospect of the police shooting at unarmed demonstrators with any kind of bullet is frankly appalling and reminiscent of scenes currently being used by murderous dictatorships in the Middle East."