London student 'struck by truncheon' has brain injury.

 

A student suffered bleeding to the brain when he was struck by a police truncheon during the tuition fees protest, his mother has alleged.

Alfie Meadows, 20, of Middlesex University, was hit on the head as he tried to leave Westminster Abbey area, his mother Susan Matthews said.
Mr Meadows had a three-hour operation and is now is a stable condition.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission has begun an inquiry and is appealing for witnesses.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "We are aware of a 20-year-old male with a head injury who is currently in hospital."
No 'martyr' The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is currently gathering evidence, including CCTV, police logs and working to trace witnesses.
A spokesman said: "The investigation will seek to establish the nature of any police contact that took place, and whether any police actions were lawful, proportionate and necessary."
Hundreds of protesters converged near Parliament on Thursday as MPs voted to increase university tuition fees to £9,000.
Several protesters and police officers were injured as the demonstration turned violent.

Protesters and police clashed during the demonstration

Mrs Matthews, 55, an English literature lecturer at Roehampton University, said her son had described being struck as "the hugest blow he ever felt in his life".
"The surface wound wasn't very big but three hours after the blow, he suffered bleeding to the brain.
"Basically he had a stroke last night. He couldn't speak or move his hand."
But Mr Meadows, a second-year undergraduate philosophy student, was now "talking and doing very well," she said.
He was attending the protest with friends, including two lecturers, Nina Power, his mother's colleague, and Peter Hallward, a philosophy lecturer at Kingston University.