They had declared it their “Day of Victory”: a tumultuous 24 hours when when Thai anti-government protesters aimed to take key offices of state and drive the country’s Prime Minister from power.

After days of growing demonstrations against the administration of Yingluck Shinawatra, this would be the climax, with tens of thousands taking to the streets.

The central battleground was Government House, the Prime Minister’s headquarters. A group of young men in face scarves and black T-shirts stood ahead of the crowd, hurling bottles, stones and petrol bombs in an attempt to breach the compound. The armoured riot police stood behind a fortress of metal and concrete.

Police loudspeakers broadcast warnings; a bank of truck-mounted amplifiers driven in by the protesters bellowed abuse. If passionate