Drunken Ken and my 15ft plunge

The truth about how Ken Livingstone has tried to cover up his drunken behaviour at a party can be revealed today.

The man who fell 15 feet into a basement after a violent tussle with the Mayor has decided to speak publicly for the first time. Robin Hedges, who is undergoing brain scans because of his injuries, decided he could no longer keep quiet after Mr Livingstone told the London Assembly the matter was merely "an accident". In a damning signed statement Mr Hedges told how:

? He was pressurised into agreeing to a statement issued by the Mayor's office initially declaring the fall was an accident.

? In fact, the truth was that Mr Hedges was involved in an angry scuffle with Mr Livingstone seconds before Mr Hedges fell.

? The Mayor had earlier become " uncontrollable" following a confrontation with his pregnant girlfriend, Emma Beal.

Mr Hedges, 35, an employee of the Evening Standard's ES magazine, has neither asked for nor received money for speaking out.

The incident happened at a 40th birthday party for Ms Beal's sister. Mr Livingstone met his girlfriend when he worked for ES magazine as a restaurant reviewer.

Yesterday, in a dramatic address to the London Assembly, the Mayor attempted to rebut the Standard's first revelations about what happened, printed last week.

Mr Livingstone said the reports were "untrue" and part of an attempt by the Standard to smear him. The Evening Standard has always insisted it has never made this a party political issue and has carried out a thorough investigation into the incident by talking to other witnesses.

Until now Mr Hedges had refused to talk in detail about the incident at Kate Beal's flat in north London.

Today he said: "It is time for the truth to come out. I believe as a result of Ken's action I plunged over the wall. He was uncontrollable. All we were trying to do was calm him down and restrain him. We were worried for Emma's safety."

A spokesman for Mr Livingstone said: "The Mayor stands by what he said yesterday."

Mr Hedges fell on his left side, striking his head, shoulder, collar bone and leg. His body was bruised and doctors fear his hip has a hairline fracture. Four and a half weeks later the pain is still so severe he uses painkillers and suffers dizzy spells.

'What Ken did to me'
Comment: Ken is his own worst enemy