'He dragged Emma outside in a rage'

It was supposed to be just another 40th birthday party . . . a few friends gathered for drinks in an ordinary flat in an ordinary street in north London. As is often the case at such events, too much drink was taken and by the end of the evening, there was one of those ugly, alcohol-fuelled rows that spring up out of nothing.

During it, a guest took a nasty fall and the police and an ambulance were called to restore order.

But what made this party so unusual is that one of the revellers was a drunken Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London.

Now eyewitness have come forward to describe events on the night of the party held by the sister of Mr Livingstone's pregnant girlfriend, Emma Beal. They throw doubt on the claim from the Mayor's office that the fall was "a simple accident". In fact, they say on the night of the party there were three confrontations involving the Mayor and that he failed to speak to police after the 15ft fall of 35-yearold Robin Hedges, a close friend of Ms Beal.

Today, after a painstaking reconstruction of the events of the night of 18/19 May, the Evening Standard can reveal the Mayor:

? Was at the centre of a struggle with Mr Hedges and another man seconds before Mr Hedges tumbled over a low wall and fell 15 feet into a concrete basement.

? Attempted to rouse Mr Hedges by shouting "Get up. You're all right, mate."

? Disappeared before the arrival of police, who were called to the scene by reports of a fight in progress.

? Frogmarched Ms Beal through the streets in a fury.

? Became involved in an earlier tussle involving Ms Beal's sister, Kate.

? Shouted foul-mouthed abuse at men trying to calm him down.

Following the incident at about 1.30am on 19 May, Mr Hedges was taken to hospital in a surgical collar. He had injuries to his head, shoulder, collar bone and leg. His body was left almost completely covered in bruises and doctors fear he has a hairline fracture of his hip.

Four weeks after the fall, the pain is still so severe that he is on painkillers and has dizzy spells.

We have established that the party, to celebrate Kate Beal's 40th birthday, began at around 8pm when dozens of bottles of wine, spirits and beer were taken into her one-bedroom groundfloor flat in Tufnell Park.

Guests from Kate's publishing firm Faber and Faber, family friends and partners started arriving shortly afterwards and were given a glass of vodka to start off the party.

The Mayor and Emma arrived and greeted guests, who included Mr Hedges, a close friend of Emma's from their days working together on the Evening Standard's ES magazine, and one of Emma's for mer boyfriends, 42-year-old designer Mike Furniss.

The Mayor, informally dressed in casual trousers and short-sleeved black shirt, drank steadily and mingled freely with the guests but at about 11.30, he went into the bedroom to lie down.

When he awoke, it was just after 1am and the party was still in full swing, witnesses say. Then someone mentioned something to the Mayor about Emma smoking - a heavy and long-standing habit she had been trying to give up with the help of nicotine patches since becoming pregnant .

Witnesses say Mr Livingstone stormed into the hall to confront her. One guest said: "He was there with Emma and was told by somebody she was having a cigarette. He lost his rag."

Kate Beal attempted to intervene and there was a brief tussle.

Next- door neighbour Stuart Williams said: "Ken was slurring. He was yelling 'She's trying to f***ing stop smoking, you can't be f***ing smoking,' and I thought he was going berserk.

"I heard some guy say 'Take it easy Ken, just relax, come on mate'.

"Ken said: 'You're not my f***ing mate, I don't f***ing know you. You're not my mate.' Really aggressive, he was. And the other guy said 'I am your mate Ken'."

Mr Williams, a 32-year-old architect, continued: "They were on the front porch - just a few people, maybe three or so. Ken was in a dark shortsleeved shirt. He was only one and a half metres away looking at somebody in the doorway of the house. I thought to myself 'it's not real trouble, he's just drunk' then went back to bed."

However, five minutes l ater the argument appeared to flare up again. One guest said: "Ken was involved in a tussle with Kate then dragged Emma outside swearing and having a right go at her."

Mr Williams said: "I heard a bit more yelling. By now it was about 1.20ish. Ken grabbed Emma and they went down the stairs in front of the house and down the street. She was going 'Get off, let me go'. She sounded a bit angry and embarrassed. They went past my house and to the left. He had one arm round her neck and one around her arm.

"They went down Dalmeny Road. I thought 'He's taking her home', so I went back to bed again.

"Four or five minutes later, I heard him back again. He kept saying 'She's stopped smoking'. He was yelling at the others 'She's trying to stop smoking and now you're giving her that shit'.

"I looked out and there were three blokes, including Ken and the one who was to fall later, on the street, arguing."

Mr Hedges and Mr Furniss had by now come out to try to calm the Mayor.

Mr Williams said: "I saw them come back up the steps, still arguing, and on to the porch again. That's when it got heavy.

"I could hear some woman yelling 'Take it easy'. I saw three people: Ken and two other guys. They started grabbing each other - wrestling.

"As far as I could tell, Livingstone was in the middle. There was a struggle and some screaming, he was in the middle of the two of them and they seemed to be holding him. I saw him hit out with his arm - I don't know which one - and I saw the guy go over the side wall.

"I don't think Ken meant him to go over. I think he just wanted him to get off. He'd kept saying 'Get off '. I think he just wanted him to go away."

Robin Hedges recoiled from the flailing arms and tripped over the low wall at the side of the steps leading up into Kate's flat. He plunged, headfirst, the 15 feet from the top of the steps into the basement of the flat next door where the occupier was roused by the thud of his fall.

London Ambulance Service say they have a tape-recorded 999 call in which an unnamed woman at the party is heard telling the operator that a fight was going on and to send an ambulance.

LAS sent an ambulance and, as is routine if violence is suspected, also called the police, who arrived first.

Mr Williams said he went out to help: "The guy who fell was passive - he seemed like he was only trying to calm Ken down a bit. There was some other guy from the party leaning over the wall checking him out down in the basement of my place. Ken Livingstone was still out on the pavement, arguing.

"Ken then staggered around and came in through the gate of my house where the guy was lying. He came downstairs and was leaning over him. He was swaying, but was saying 'You're all right, mate', as if he was telling him he was, not asking.

"The guy down there wasn't moving. There was a girl there who told Ken to go away. Then a guy came and took Ken away - they walked left down Tufnell Park Road a bit and I hear the guy say 'Pack it in, let's get out of here'. Ken wasn't being co-operative."

The police arrived just after 1.34am to be told by Kate Beal that the fall "was an accident". Officers claim they spoke to Mr Hedges in the basement where he had fallen and he told them there was no incident, although he is understood to have no knowledge of the conversation or recollection of anything following the argument before waking up briefly in the ambulance.

Mr Williams said: "Ken disappeared about five minutes before police arrived. I'd heard a guy saying to him 'Come on, Ken, let's get out of here'."

Since the incident, under pressure from Emma Beal, Mr Hedges has spoken to few people about the accident and has said he is not currently considering pressing charges.

However, when news of the "accident" broke in the Evening Standard, he invited one of our reporters into his Archway home.

He did not dispute the fact that he had been involved in a tussle with Ken Livingstone following the Mayor's row with Emma and said: "Emma is my closest friend and I would do nothing at all to upset her. It was a horrible business and I'm still trying to get over it and to come to terms with what happened physically and mentally. I'm not going to take it any further or sue him."

He then called Ms Beal at her office at the GLA and returned looking apologetic and nervous and ended the interview.

Later, he issued a rather curiously worded statement through the GLA, saying: "The simple fact is that I attended a party, during which I injured myself. It is false to suggest that anyone else was involved. It was an accident."