Mayor to face GLA over brawl claims

Ken Livingstone will attend an emergency meeting of the Greater London Assembly tomorrow to confront claims he assaulted a man at a party.

The Mayor of London's office confirmed last night that he would attend, even though there was no legal requirement for him to appear. The Assembly decided last week to convene an extraordinary meeting "regarding allegations in the media about [Mr Livingstone's] conduct, in the light of subsequent reports challenging the veracity of his explanation".

Robin Hedges, who works for the ES magazine of the Evening Standard, claims he was seriously injured when Mr Livingstone pushed him over a 15ft-high wall. Mr Hedges also alleges that the Mayor was involved in a "drunken tussle" with Emma Beal, his pregnant partner, because she had been smoking.

Mr Livingstone denied both claims in a statement to the Assembly last week. The Mayor's allies said Ms Beal; her sister, Kate, and fellow party-goer Mike Furniss all disputed comments attributed to them by Mr Hedges.

But the Evening Standard stepped up its attack with new allegations, contradicting Mr Livingstone's assertion that he had spoken to Mr Hedges before putting out a statement saying the incident was "a simple accident". Mr Hedges was reinterviewed by the police yesterday.