The Latest: Protesters have thrown light bulbs full of ammonia at police officers on Oxford Street, according to the Metropolitan Police Force's twitter feed.

It appears the majority if the violence is around London's Oxford Street shopping area, which was a rumored target for more aggressive protesters.

The Met says two significant violent events have occurred away from the main protest route.

The latest from Sky News is that 500 protesters have attacked an HSBC bank branch in Central London.

The Ritz Hotel, in Mayfair, has also been attacked by protesters, according to Sky.

Earlier:

Hundreds of thousands of people are out in the streets of London today protesting government budget cuts. Early estimates had it around 250,000, but now there are suggestions it could be 400,000.

Thus far, protests have been nothing like those in London earlier this year, where students invaded buildings and attacked Prince Charles' car.

The protest route stretches from Hyde Park, past Parliament, and down the Thames, according to the Guardian. It involves a wide section of people opposed to government policy, not just student protesters like previous events.

These protest come just days after Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osbourne released his latest budget, which called for more austerity cuts.

While the government has been cutting public spending, the UK has been experiencing high inflation and low growth, which is now dampening the ability of those cuts to trim the deficit.

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